THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


(Stop  ^etmorc  Carrpl. 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.  Crown 
8vo,  $1.50. 

ZUT  AND  OTHER  PARISIANS.  Narrow 
izmo,  $1.50.  (In  preparation.) 

GRIMM  TALES  MADE  GAY.  Illustrated 
by  ALBERT  LEVERING.  Square  crown 
8vo,  $  i.  50,  net.  Postpaid,  $1.62. 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &  COMPANY, 
BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK. 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 


THE 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

A  NOVEL 

BY 

GUY  WETMORE  CARRYL 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 

<£\)t  fliUcrsi&c  press,  Cambridge 
1903 


Copyright,  1902 
BY  THE  ESS  ESS  PUBLISHING  CO. 

Copyright,  1903 
BY  GUT  WETHORE  CARRYL 

JLLL   BIGHTS   RE8EBVED 


Publithed  March,  1903 


C7 


TO 

M.  R  B. 

IN  MEMOKY  OF  THE  RESCUE  OF  A  MAN  AT  SEA 


771244 


CONTENTS 


I.  THE  FLY  ON  THE  WHEEL      ....  1 

EC.  THE  ODDS  AGAINST  YOUNG  NISBET    .        <  21 

III.  A  FACE  IN  THE  CROWD 40 

IV.  AS   BETWEEN    FRIENDS              ....  60 

V.  A  BRAND  FROM  THE  BURNING       ...  80 

VI.    McGRATH   LAUGHS 98 

VII.   THE  MIRAGE  OF  POWER          ....  117 

VIII.   THE  GOVERNOR  UNMASKS    ....  137 

IX.   THE  NINTH  PASSES  IN  REVIEW     .        .        .  156 

X.  A  QUESTION  AND  AN  ANSWER    .        .        .  177 

XI.  YOUNG  NISBET  FINDS  HIS  TONGUE        .        .  196 

XII.  DIOGENES 215 

XIII.  THE  INSTRUMENT  OF  FATE     .        .        .  234 

XIV.  THE  VOICE  OF  ALLEGHENIA  252 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 


THE    FLY    ON    THE    WHEEL 

THE  offices  of  the  Governor  and  the  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor  adjoined.  Each  had  its  ante 
room,  in  which  a  private  secretary  wrote 
eternally  at  a  roll-top  desk,  an  excessively 
plain-featured  stenographer  rattled  the  keys 
of  his  typewriter,  and  a  smug-faced  page 
yawned  over  a  newspaper,  or  scanned  the 
cards  of  visitors  with  the  air  of  an  official 
censor.  At  intervals,  an  electric  bell  whirred 
once,  twice,  or  three  times ;  and,  according 
to  the  signal,  one  of  the  trio  disappeared 
into  the  presence  of  the  august  personage 
within. 

A  door  connected  the  office  of  the  chief 
executive  with  that  of  his  lieutenant,  but  this 
was  rarely  opened  by  either,  and  then  only 

1 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

after  a  formal  tap  and  permission  to  enter  had 
been  given.  It  was  a  matter  of  general  know 
ledge  that  the  Governor  and  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  were  not  in  sympathy ;  but  few,  even 
among  the  intimates  of  either,  were  aware  how 
deep,  and  wide,  and  hopelessly  impassable  was 
the  gulf  which  lay  between  them.  This  was 
due  not  alone  to  disparity  in  age,  though 
twenty-eight  years  separated  the  white-haired 
Governor  from  his  handsome  subordinate,  who 
had  been  nominated  to  this,  his  first  public 
office,  on  his  thirtieth  birthday;  nor  was  it 
wholly  a  difference  between  the  experience  of 
the  one  and  the  inexperience  of  the  other. 
The  point  of  view  of  the  veteran  is,  naturally, 
not  that  of  the  novice,  particularly  in  politics. 
That  the  enthusiasms  of  Lieutenant-Governor 
Barclay  should  have  been  the  disillusions  of 
Governor  Abbott,  and  his  pitfalls  his  senior's 
stepping-stones,  —  this  was  to  be  expected. 
The  root  of  their  dissimilarity  lay  deeper. 
It  was  nothing  less  than  mutual  distrust 
which  kept  the  connecting  door  closed  day 
after  day,  and  clogged  the  channel  of  cooper- 
2 


THE  FLY  ON  THE  WHEEL 

ation  with  the  sharp-pointed  boulders  of  an 
tagonism. 

The  convention  which  nominated  the  suc 
cessful  ticket  of  the  preceding  year  had  been 
a  veritable  chaos  of  contending  factions.  The 
labor  delegates,  encouraged  by  the  unex 
pected  strength  of  their  representation,  were 
not  content  with  such  nominal  plums  as  had 
fallen  to  their  share  in  former  conventions. 
Led  by  Michael  McGrath,  an  agitator  whose 
native  Irish  eloquence,  made  keener  and 
more  persuasive  by  practice  in  bar-room  foren- 
sics,  brought  him  naturally  to  the  fore,  they 
threatened,  at  one  stage  of  the  proceedings, 
to  carry  all  before  them.  The  more  conserva 
tive  faction,  its  strength  sapped  by  the  for 
mation,  in  its  very  ranks,  of  a  reform  party 
determined  upon  the  fall  of  the  "  machine," 
was  forced  to  yield  ground.  The  reformers 
themselves,  young  men  for  the  most  part,  dis 
tinguished  by  great  ideals  but  small  ability, 
were  too  few  to  impose  their  individual  will 
upon  their  opponents,  yet  sufficiently  numer 
ous  to  make  their  support  necessary  to  the 
3 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

success  of  either  party.  The  usual  smooth 
course  of  the  convention,  upset  by  this  un 
looked-for  resistance  from  two  quarters,  stag 
gered  helplessly,  and  was  on  the  point  of 
coming  to  a  deadlock.  It  was  Michael 
McGrath's  shrewd  perception  of  the  situation 
which  solved  the  problem.  In  a  brief,  im 
passioned  speech  he  laid  the  claims  of  his 
faction  before  the  delegates,  winding  up  with 
a  stirring  picture  of  the  cooperation  of  labor 
and  reform,  now  possible,  which  held  the  con 
vention  in  spellbound  silence  for  ten  seconds 
after  he  had  closed,  and  then  set  the  hall 
ringing  to  cheers  and  vigorously  plied  hands 
and  feet.  For  an  instant  he  paused,  with  his 
arms  folded,  and  his  keen  blue  eyes  sliding 
over  the  faces  before  him,  and  then  played 
his  trump  card.  At  his  signal,  a  banner, 
hastily  prepared,  was  borne,  slowly  revolv 
ing,  down  the  central  aisle,  and  on  this  were 
boldly  lettered  the  words  which  at  the  same 
moment  McGrath  was  thundering  from  the 
platform :  — 


THE  FLY   ON  THE  WHEEL 
LABOR  AND  REFORM! 

FOB   GOVERNOR, 

ELIJAH   ABBOTT. 

FOR  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR, 

JOHN  HAMILTON  BARCLAY. 

McGrath  had  no  need  to  look  toward  the 
labor  faction  for  support.  He  knew  what  the 
name  of  Elijah  Abbott  meant  in  that  quarter. 
His  shifting  glance  was  fixed  upon  the  seats 
of  the  reform  delegates,  and  a  little  smile 
twitched  at  the  corners  of  his  mouth,  as  he 
saw  them  rise  with  a  cheer.  Barclay  was  the 
chief  spirit  of  their  movement.  They  had 
not  expected  this  recognition.  But  if,  in  the 
enthusiasm  of  unlooked-for  victory,  they  did 
not  perceive  how  little,  in  reality,  was  their 
gain,  McGrath  was  far  from  being  unaware 
how  great  was  his  own.  Before  the  cheering 
of  the  now  allied  forces  of  labor  and  reform 
had  fairly  died  away,  he  had  moved  that 
nominations  were  in  order,  and,  ten  minutes 
later,  while  the  partisans  of  the  "  machine  " 
were  still  endeavoring  to  collect  their  wits, 
the  main  business  of  the  convention  was  an 

5 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

accomplished  fact,  and  Abbott  and  Barclay 
were  declared  the  regular  Democratic  nomi 
nees  for  Governor  and  Lieutenant-Governor  of 
the  state.  In  six  weeks  followed  their  elec 
tion  by  a  small  plurality,  and  on  the  first  of 
January  the  two  men  moved  into  their  ad 
joining  rooms,  in  the  inexcusably  unlovely 
state  capitol,  on  the  main  hill  of  Kenton 
City,  wherein  they  were,  thenceforward,  sep 
arated,  one  from  the  other,  by  two  inches  of 
Georgia  pine  and  a  practically  infinite  diver 
sity  of  principle  and  prejudice. 

From  the  first  their  relationship  had  been 
no  better  than  an  armed  truce.  Both  were 
courteous  men,  the  one  because  such  was  his 
policy,  the  other  because  he  was  to  this  man 
ner  born.  There  was  no  need  for  them  to 
discuss  their  individual  creeds.  They  tacitly 
accepted  the  fact  that  there  was  not  a  parallel 
between  the  two.  From  the  moment  when 
his  election  was  assured  by  the  returns,  Ab 
bott  was  candidly  the  man  of  the  Labor  — 
nay,  more — of  the  Socialist  party.  McGrath 
and  his  associates  manipulated  him  as  readily 

6 


THE  FLY  ON  THE   WHEEL 

as  a  marionette.  The  promises  and  pledges 
of  the  campaign  were  ruthlessly  jettisoned. 
If  Governor  Abbott  did  not  stand  for  anar 
chy,  it  was  only  because,  for  the  moment, 
anarchy  was  not  the  demand  of  his  party. 
Withal,  he  was  dignified  and  self-possessed, 
robed  in  an  agreeable  suavity  which  became 
him  at  functions  and  ceremonials,  and  as 
sured  his  popularity  with  those  —  and  they 
were,  as  always,  in  the  majority  —  who  did 
not  look  below  the  surface. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Barclay  had  not  been 
ten  days  in  office  before  he  realized  the  futil 
ity  of  resistance  to  the  established  order,  as 
represented  in  his  superior.  He  had  accepted 
his  nomination,  and  welcomed  his  election, 
with  an  almost  Quixotic  elation  in  the  op 
portunity  thus  opened  to  him.  He  would 
accomplish  —  oh,  there  was  no  telling  what 
Lieutenant-Governor  Barclay  would  not  ac 
complish  ! 

He  was  standing  at  his  office  window  now, 
staring  out  disconsolately  over  the  sloping 
lawns  of  the  capitol  grounds,  mottled  with 
7 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

thin  patches  of  snow,  which  had  contrived  to 
withstand  the  recent  thaw,  and  he  was  telling 
himself,  for  the  thousandth  time,  the  dispirit 
ing  fact  that,  as  a  force  for  good  or  evil  in 
the  destiny  of  his  state,  he  was  no  more  signi 
ficant  than  his  stenographer's  Remington  or 
his  secretary's  roll-top  desk.  With  all  his 
ideals,  with  all  those  pledges  which  are  infi 
nitely  more  vital  when  made  in  private  to 
one's  conscience  than  when  made  in  public  to 
one's  party,  he  found  himself  merely  a  cog  in 
the  state  machinery  —  a  cog,  too,  that,  seem 
ingly,  might  be  skipped  at  any  or  every  time, 
without  in  the  least  degree  disturbing  the 
progress  of  routine.  On  the  few  occasions, 
in  the  early  days  of  their  official  relation, 
when  he  had  ventured  to  set  his  will  in  op 
position  to  that  of  the  Governor,  there  had 
not  been  manifest  in  the  latter's  attitude 
even  that  spirit  of  resistance  which  spurs  men 
to  more  active  and  resolute  endeavor.  Gov 
ernor  Abbott  had  smiled  pleasantly  upon 
him,  and  then  quietly  shifted  the  conversation 
into  other  channels,  with  an  air  of  selecting 
8 


THE  FLY  ON  THE   WHEEL 

a  topic  more  suited  to  his  companion's  com 
prehension.  Finally,  on  one  occasion,  when 
Barclay  had  voiced  his  opinion  with  an  en 
ergy  which  savored  of  rebuke,  the  Governor 
had  gone  further,  and  had  asked  calmly  — 
"  And  what  were  you  proposing  to  do  about 
it  ?  "  After  that  Barclay  had  relinquished 
the  unequal  struggle,  and  resigned  himself 
to  the  unavoidable  conclusion  of  his  impo- 
tency. 

It  is  a  situation  which  tries  men's  souls, 
this  of  utter  helplessness  in  the  face  of  plain 
duty.  He  could  have  no  hope  of  making  his 
position  clear  to  the  constituency  to  which  he 
was  responsible.  Debarred  on  the  one  side 
from  taking  an  active  part  in  the  administra 
tion  of  state  affairs,  and  bitterly  arraigned  on 
the  other  on  the  grounds  of  inefficiency,  lax- 
rity,  and  indifference  to  duty,  the  second  month 
of  office  found  John  Barclay  in  a  fair  way  to 
be  ground  to  powder  between  the  millstones 
of  impuissance  and  hostile  criticism.  The 
men  of  his  party  who  had,  both  in  private 
conviction  and  public  statement,  based  their 
9 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

hopes  of  political  reform  upon  the  frankly 
avowed  platform  of  his  principles,  now  passed 
him  coldly,  with  a  bare  nod,  sometimes  with 
none  whatever ;  the  labor  element  jeered  joy 
ously  at  his  attitude ;  the  "  machine  "  pointed 
to  him  as  proof  of  the  fallacy  of  the  reform 
creed.  It  is  easy  to  expect  great  perform 
ances  from  great  promises,  easier  still  to  out 
line  the  duties  and  condemn  the  delinquencies 
of  another,  and  not  even  Barclay's  knowledge 
of  his  own  good  faith  was  sufficient  com 
pensation  for  the  sneers  of  press  and  public 
which  fell  to  his  share.  As  he  surveyed  the 
dispiriting  prospect  from  his  office  window, 
on  that  late  February  afternoon,  he  was  near 
to  resigning  his  position,  and  with  it  all  fur 
ther  pretension  to  political  prominence. 

In  the  opinion  of  those  competent  to  judge, 
the  state  of  Alleghenia  was  going  to  the 
dogs.  A  press  distinguished  alike  for  the 
amplitude  of  its  headlines  and  the  pitiable 
paucity  of  its  principles ;  a  legislature  of 
which  practically  every  member  had,  not  only 
a  price,  but  such  a  price  as  the  advertise- 
10 


THE  FLY  ON  THE  WHEEL 

ments  describe  as  being  "within  the  reach 
of  all ; "  a  Governor  who  avowedly  stood 
ready  to  sanction  the  most  extreme  preten 
sions  of  the  notoriously  corrupt  party  which 
had  secured  him  his  election,  —  here,  surely, 
were  good  and  sufficient  reasons  for  the 
generously  bestowed  disapproval  of  Alleghe- 
nia's  sister  states.  In  all  the  personnel  of 
her  government  there  was  but  one  man  sin 
cerely  devoted  to  her  advancement  on  the  lines 
of  integrity  and  non-partisanship.  And  that 
man  was  Lieutenant-Governor  Barclay,  whose 
influence  on  the  trend  of  affairs  was  approxi 
mately  that  of  the  proverbial  fly  on  the  hub 
of  the  revolving  wheel. 

The  Lieutenant-Governor  had  turned  back 
to  his  desk,  and  was  arranging  his  papers,  pre 
paratory  to  departing  for  the  day,  when  his 
ears  were  greeted  by  the  unusual  and  unwel 
come  sound  of  a  rap  upon  the  communicating 
door.  Instinctively  he  braced  himself  for  an 
unpleasant  encounter  before  replying.  It  was 
his  experience  that  the  Governor's  room  was 
like  to  Nazareth  of  old,  in  that  no  good  might 
11 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

be  expected  to  issue  therefrom.  Nevertheless, 
as  Governor  Abbott  entered,  in  response  to 
Barclay's  "  Come  !  "  it  was  difficult  to  believe 
that  he  was  aught  but  what  he  appeared  to 
be,  —  a  courteous,  conspicuously  well-dressed 
and  white-haired  gentleman,  of  sixty  or  there 
abouts,  smooth-shaven  save  for  chop  side- 
whiskers  of  iron  gray,  with  a  habit  of  rubbing 
his  hands,  and  an  inclination  from  the  hips 
forward  which  suggested  a  floor-walker.  In 
brief,  the  Governor  of  Alleghenia  seemed  the 
type  of  a  man  who  turns  sideways  and  slips 
through  narrow  places,  rather  than  run  the 
risk  of  barking  his  elbows  by  a  face-front 
advance.  In  reality  he  was  somewhat  less 
pliable  than  a  steel  rail. 

"  You  are  going  ?  "  he  asked,  seeing  how 
Barclay  was  employed. 

"  I  was  thinking  of  it,"  replied  the  Lieu 
tenant  -  Governor.  "  Of  course,  if  there  is 
anything  "  — 

Governor  Abbott  seated  himself  on  the 
edge  of  the  desk,  holding  a  lapel  of  his  coat 
in  each  hand,  and  surveyed  his  subordinate 
12 


THE  FLY  ON  THE  WHEEL 

from   under   his   drooping  eyelids,  with   his 
head  cocked  on  one  side. 

"  I  believe  you  know  Peter  Rathbawne," 
he  said. 

"  I  do.  I  am  engaged  to  his  elder  daugh 
ter." 

"  Ah  !     That  is  what  I  thought." 

The  Governor  looked  contemplatively  at 
the  ceiling,  closing  his  right  eye,  and  nibbling 
behind  his  pursed  lips. 

"  Peter  Rathbawne,"  he  said,  "  is  the  sec 
ond  most  obstinate  man  in  Kenton  City,  if 
not  in  Alleghenia.  I  'm  afraid  he  thinks  he 
is  the  most  obstinate.  If  so,  he  does  me  an 
injustice.  His  mills  are  the  largest  in  the 
state.  I  am  told  that  when  they  are  running 
full  strength  they  employ  over  four  thousand 
hands." 

"  Something  like  that  number,  I  believe," 
put  in  Barclay,  as  the  Governor  seemed  to 
expect  a  reply. 

"  Ah  !  It  is  a  pity  for  such  an  industry  as 
that  to  be  tied  up  on  account  of  one  man's 
obstinacy." 

13 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  I  had  not  heard  "  —  began  Barclay  ;  but 
Governor  Abbott  continued  steadily,  disre 
garding  the  interruption. 

"  Yesterday  morning  Mr.  Rathbawne  dis 
charged  fifteen  employees  on  the  ground  of 
incompetency.  It  is  hard  to  see  exactly  what 
Mr.  Rathbawne  means  by  *  incompetency/ 
These  men  were  not  newcomers.  Some  of 
them  had  been  in  the  mills  for  as  much  as 
eighteen  months.  It  seems  as  if  he  might 
have  discovered  the  alleged  incompetency 
long  ago.  It  is  more  or  less  arbitrary,  one 
might  say,  this  discharging  men  by  wholesale, 
as  it  were." 

"  I  suppose,"  commented  Barclay,  "  that  a 
man  may  do  as  he  will  with  his  own." 

"  Ah  !  "  said  the  Governor,  lifting  his  hands 
from  his  lapels  with  a  little  gesture  of  de 
precation,  but  immediately  replacing  them. 
"  But  can  he  ?  A  man  in  Peter  Rathbawne's 
position  has  a  responsibility  to  fulfill  toward 
the  community.  He  cannot  beggar  men  for 
a  caprice  —  because  his  horse  has  gone  lame, 
or  his  breakfast  has  not  agreed  with  him. 
14 


THE  FLY  ON  THE  WHEEL 

He  must  show  reasons  —  give  an  accounting. 
He  must  be  fair." 

"  Oh,  when  it  comes  to  fairness,"  laughed 
the  other,  "  I  assure  you,  Governor  Abbott, 
you  won't  find  Mr.  Rathbawne's  equal  this 
side  of  the  Pacific.  He  's  famous  for  square 
dealing." 

"  He  has  been,"  corrected  the  Governor. 
"In  the  present  instance  he  seems  to  have 
fallen  below  standard.  He  has  declined  to 
reconsider  his  decision  in  the  case  of  the  dis 
charged  men.  What 's  worse,  he  has  flatly 
refused  to  see  the  committee  appointed  by  the 
Union." 

"I'm  not  surprised  at  that,"  said  Barclay 
slowly,  fingering  a  paper-cutter  on  the  desk 
before  him.  "  Mr.  Rathbawne  is  peculiar  in 
one  respect ;  he  supports  and  considers  the 
Union  in  every  other.  But  he  has  always  in 
sisted  upon  his  right  to  discharge  the  hands 
at  will,  and  without  giving  reasons.  Incom- 
petency  is  only  a  word  which  is  used  to  cover 
more  serious  causes." 

"  Well,  he 's  wrong,"  said  the  Governor, 
15 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

with  a  heat  unusual  to  him.  "  He 's  dead 
wrong,  Mr.  Barclay,  and  he  will  find  it  out 
before  he  's  a  day  older." 

"  Do  you  mean  "  — 

"  I  mean  that  if  the  men  in  question  are 
not  taken  back  before  to-morrow  noon,  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  in  the  employ  of  the 
Rathbawne  Mills  will  be  out  on  strike.  The 
question  is,  what  is  Peter  Rathbawne  pre 
pared  to  do  ?  " 

The  silence  that  followed  was  broken  only 
by  the  tap,  tap,  tap  of  the  Lieutenant-Gov 
ernor's  paper-cutter  on  the  silver-mounted  blot 
ter.  Presently  he  looked  up  and  met  the 
Governor's  eye. 

"If  you  want  my  opinion,  sir,"  he  answered, 
"  it  is  that  Mr.  Rathbawne  would  fight  such  a 
point  to  a  standstill.  He 's  sole  owner  of  the 
mills,  and  he 's  a  rich  man.  He  has  always 
treated  his  employees  as  if  they  were  his 
own  children.  If  they  turn  on  him  now  for 
something  which,  from  their  experience  of 
his  character,  they  must  know  was  fair  and 
justifiable  "  — 

16 


THE  FLY  ON  THE  WHEEL 

"  But  toas  it  ?  "  interrupted  the  Governor. 

"I  don't  know  the  facts,  sir,  but  I  know 
Peter  Rathbawne,"  said  Barclay,  throwing 
back  his  head,  "  and  I  can  say,  with  clear  con 
viction,  that  it  must  have  been.  If,  as  you 
suggest,  the  hands  go  out,  I  think  he  would 
close  down  the  mills  for  a  year,  and  go  abroad. 
He's  a  man  who  doesn't  argue;  he  simply 
acts.  I  fancy  there  would  n't  be  much  oppo 
sition  left  by  the  time  he  wanted  to  reopen." 

"Provided  always  that  there  were  any 
thing  left  to  reopen,"  suggested  the  Governor 
softly. 

"  The  state  troops  have  more  than  once 
proved  their  ability  to  assure  the  sanctity  of 
property,"  answered  his  subordinate,  with  a 
touch  of  the  old  pride  with  which  he  had 
assumed  office. 

"Hum!"  said  Governor  Abbott.  "But 
calling  out  the  militia  is  a  serious  matter,  Mr. 
Barclay,  to  say  nothing  of  the  expense  en 
tailed.  Considering  that  the  difficulty  would 
be  due  entirely  to  the  obstinacy  of  one  man 
—  er  —  one  might  not  feel  justified  "  — 
17 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOE 

He  hesitated  briefly  under  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor's  keen  glance,  and  then  swerved 
from  this  line  of  suggestion. 

"  What  I  wanted  to  say  was  this :  You  are 
a  friend  of  Mr.  Rathbawne's, —  something 
more  than  a  friend,  indeed.  No  doubt  he  has 
a  respect  for  your  opinion,  as  you  have  for 
his.  Now,  if  in  the  course  of  a  quiet  chat  — 
it  will  have  to  be  to-night  —  you  should  point 
out  the  situation  that  threatens  him,  the  dis 
tress  that  a  strike  will  cause,  the  probable 
destruction  of  his  property,  perhaps  he  might 
consent  to  reinstate  the  discharged  men  to 
morrow  morning." 

"It  would  be  a  surrender  of  principle,  to 
which  he  would  never  consent,"  said  Bar 
clay  firmly.  "  Of  that  I  am  sure.  Moreover, 
sir,  I  should  be  speaking  against  my  convic 
tions  were  I  to  advise  him  to  adopt  such  a 
course." 

The  Governor's  lip  wrinkled  slightly. 

"  The  Union  is  prepared  to  do  the  right 
thing  by  the  man  who  settles  this  question," 
he  said. 

18 


THE  FLY  ON  THE  WHEEL 

"  I  hope  you  don't  mean  that !  "  exclaimed 
Barclay.  "  You  are  the  first  man  to  make 
such  a  suggestion  to  me.  Pardon  me,  Gov 
ernor  Abbott,  but  I  cannot  but  think  the  ex 
ecutive  chamber  of  the  capitol  of  Alleghenia 
a  singular  place  for  it  to  be  mentioned." 

The  Governor  held  up  his  hand. 

"  You  misunderstand  me,"  he  said.  "  One 
would  suppose  I  had  offered  you  a  purse ! 
I  mean  simply  that  the  popularity  of  the 
man  who  averts  this  strike  will  be  an  assured 
fact.  He  would  be  the  idol  of  the  working 
people,  and  hardly  less  esteemed  by  the  ele 
ment  of  capital.  Moreover,  he  would  be  do 
ing  a  humane  and  merciful  thing.  You  are 
the  only  man  who  is  in  a  position  to  ap 
proach  Rathbawne,  and,  if  you  will  excuse  the 
suggestion,  I  think  you  can  hardly  afford  to 
throw  away  the  chance.  As  it  is,  you  —  er 
—  you  are  not  what  might  be  called  popular, 
Mr.  Barclay." 

This  time  the  silence  was  broken  by  a  single 
sharp  little  click — the  latch  of  the  connecting 
door  slipping  into  place.  The  Lieutenant- 
19 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

Governor  sank  slowly  into  his  revolving  chair, 
tipped  back,  swung  round  a  half  circle,  and 
stared  out  disconsolately  over  the  sloping 
lawns  of  the  capitol  grounds,  mottled  with 
thin  patches  of  snow. 


20 


n 

THE    ODDS   AGAINST   YOUNG   NISBET 

YOUNG  Nisbet  leaned  forward  in  his  chair. 

"And  I've  been  thinking,"  he  added, "that 
perhaps  —  that  perhaps  "  — 

"That  perhaps  what?"  asked  the  junior 
Miss  Rathbawne,  leaning  forward  in  hers. 

"If  I  don't  have  tea  instantly"  said  her 
mother,  with  profound  conviction,  as  she  came 
ponderously  through  the  portieres,  tugging 
at  her  gloves,  "  I  shall  expire  !  How  de  do, 
Mr.  Nisbet.  Do  sit  up  straight,  Dorothy,  my 
dear." 

She  sank  heavily  into  a  low  chair,  which 
brought  her  within  the  radius  of  lamp-light 
at  the  tea-table,  and  was  thus  revealed  as  a 
lady  of  generous  proportions,  with  a  conspic 
uous  absence  of  features,  and  no  observable 
lap.  In  speaking,  she  displayed  a  marked 
partiality  for  undue  emphasis.  Sublimely  un- 
21 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

conscious  of  the  depression  induced  by  her 
advent,  she  continued  to  talk,  as  she  pulled 
off  her  gloves,  which  were  a  size  too  small, 
and  came  away  with  reluctance,  leaving  im 
prints  of  the  stitching  on  her  pudgy  pink 
hands. 

Young  Nisbet  surveyed  her  with  a  kind  of 
mute  despair.  He  was  a  very  average  young 
American,  very  conventionally  in  love,  and  the 
trifling  remnant  of  self  -  assertiveness  which 
had  triumphed  over  the  crescent  humility  nat 
ural  to  his  condition  inevitably  evaporated 
into  thin  air  at  the  approach  of  Mrs.  Rath- 
bawne ;  and  always,  as  he  was  doing  now,  he 
turned  in  his  toes  excessively  when  she  was 
present,  hitched  at  his  right  trouser-leg,  where 
the  crease  passed  over  his  knee,  and  looked 
first  at  her,  and  then  at  the  floor,  and  then  at 
her  again,  with  the  purposeless  regularity  of 
a  mechanical  toy. 

There  was  a  tremendous  and  highly  sig 
nificant  rattling  of  cups,  saucers,  and  silver 
spoons,  as  Dorothy  Rathbawne  prepared  her 
mother's  tea.  All  things  considered,  one 
22 


THE  ODDS  AGAINST  YOUNG  NISBET 

found  something  very  admirable  about  Doro 
thy  at  such  a  time  as  this.  It  was  not  com 
plete  submission,  still  less  was  it  open  revolt, 
but  savored  of  both,  and  was  incomparable 
as  an  attitude  toward  Mrs.  Rathbawne.  On 
some  occasions  it  was  almost  as  impossible  to 
get  on  with  Mrs.  Rathbawne  as  it  would  have 
been,  on  others,  to  get  on  without  her.  The 
which,  nowadays,  is  more  or  less  true  of  all 
parents.  And  children. 

"  Natalie  and  your  Aunt  Helen  got  out  at 
the  florist's,"  went  on  the  good  lady,  "  but  I 
came  straight  on,  and  sent  the  carriage  back 
for  them.  I  felt  that  I  couldn't  exist  an 
instant  longer  without  my  tea.  I  'm  sure  I 
don't  see  how  Natalie  stands  it.  She  was  out 
all  morning  in  the  brougham,  too.  You  had 
best  make  enough  for  three  cups,  Dorothy  — 
and  do  sit  up  straight,  my  dear !  —  and  order 
Thomas  to  bring  in  some  more  tartines.  They 
are  sure  to  be  hungry,  and  they  are  apt  to 
come  in  at  any  moment." 

"  That  is  a  family  failing,"  said  Dorothy 
venomously,  from  behind  the  kettle. 
23 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  Well,  I  'm  sure,  my  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Rath- 
bawne  innocently,  as  she  straightened  her 
rings,  and  picked  an  imaginary  speck  out  of 
one  of  her  round,  flat  nails,  "there  is  no 
disgrace  at  all  in  a  healthy  appetite.  I  'm 
thankful  we  all  have  it  —  though  as  for 
your  Aunt  Helen,  hers  is  about  like  that  of 
a  fly." 

"  Flies  have  very  good  appetites  —  judging 
from  all  I  've  seen,  that  is,"  said  Dorothy,  "  so 
I  don't  think  she  is  to  be  commiserated  on 
that  account." 

"That  was  only  a  figure  of  speech,  my 
dear,"  replied  Mrs.  Rathbawne,  with  enga 
ging  placidity.  "  Mercy !  but  I  'in  glad  to  get 
home.  We  've  had  a  positively  exhausting 
day  with  Natalie's  shopping,  and  the  worst  of 
it  is  to  think  what  a  lot  more  there  is  to  do. 
A  wedding  certainly  is  an  undertaking,  Mr. 
Nisbet." 

"  Is  it  ?  "  answered  young  Nisbet,  percept 
ibly  startled  at  being  thus  abruptly  included 
in  the  conversation. 

"  Decidedly! "  asseverated  Mrs.  Rathbawne. 
24 


THE  ODDS  AGAINST  YOUNG  NISBET 

"Of  course,  in  the  case  of  an  ordinary 
man  "  — 

"  Two  lumps,  mother  ?  " 

"  Always  two  lumps,  Dorothy,  my  dear. 
Surely  you  must  know  that,  by  this  time ! 
As  I  was  saying,  Mr.  Nisbet,  the  fact  that 
my  elder  daughter  is  to  marry  Mr.  Bar- 
clay"- 

Dorothy's  eyebrows  went  up  resignedly  as 
she  bent  with  affected  solicitude  over  the 
alcohol  lamp,  than  which  none  ever  burned 
more  blamelessly.  There  was  no  stopping 
Mrs.  Rathbawne  now ! 

"  One  has  to  keep  his  position  in  mind," 
she  was  saying.  "  It  is  n't  like  the  usual 
marriage,  which  interests  only  the  families 
and  friends  of  the  persons  concerned,  you 
know.  It  is  n't  even  as  if  only  Kenton  City 
were  looking  on.  All  Alleghenia  will  be  on 
the  qui  vive,  Mr.  Nisbet,  all  the  state  of 
Alleghenia.  I  should  n't  wonder  if  some  no 
tice  were  taken  of  the  event,  even  at  Wash 
ington.  Marrying  a  statesman,  you  see, — 
a  Lieutenant-Governor !  Oh,  it 's  quite  differ- 
25 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

ent  —  quite!  Do  sit  up  straight,  Dorothy, 
my  dear ! " 

She  continued  to  prattle  of  the  momentous 
marriage  impending,  until  her  complacent 
chatter  was  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of 
her  half-sister,  Mrs.  Wynyard,  and  the  elder 
Miss  Rathbawne. 

The  two  newcomers  were  both  beautiful, 
in  widely  dissimilar  ways.  Helen  Wynyard, 
Mrs.  Rathbawne's  junior  by  nearly  a  score  of 
years,  retained  at  thirty  the  transparent  bril 
liancy  of  complexion  which,  at  eighteen,  had 
made  her  the  most  admired  debutante  of  her 
season  in  San  Francisco.  Her  marriage  with 
Ellery  Wynyard  had  caused  a  great  to-do 
among  the  gossips,  and,  later,  had  defrauded 
them  pitilessly  of  their  self -promised  "  I  told 
you  so's,"  by  reason  of  the  death  of  the  hand 
some  young  rake,  before  the  rose-color  of  the 
honeymoon  had  begun  to  fade.  Beauty,  wit, 
and  infallible  tact  she  inherited  from  her 
mother,  shrewd  business  ability  and  a  keen 
insight  into  men  and  things  from  her  father, 
and  wealth  and  a  certain  attractive  audacity 
26 


THE  ODDS  AGAINST  YOUNG  NISBET 

of  speech  from  her  husband ;  and  five  years 
of  widowhood  only  served  to  develop  and  em 
phasize  the  promise  of  her  first  season.  There 
were  numerous  feet  which  aspired  to  be  shod 
with  Ellery  Wynyard's  discarded  shoes,  but 
no  one  pair,  said  the  world,  so  much  as  an 
inch  in  advance  of  the  rest. 

Mrs.  Wynyard  was  spending  the  winter 
with  her  half-sister,  and  the  Rathbawnes, 
whom  the  circumstance  of  widely  distant  re 
sidence  had  always  kept  from  coming  into 
close  touch  with  her,  were  equally  at  a  loss 
when  they  wondered  how  they  had  formerly 
contrived  to  exist  without  her,  and  in  what 
manner  they  should  resign  themselves  to  giv 
ing  her  up.  She  was  a  woman  who  came 
amazingly  near  to  being  indispensable. 

For  the  moment,  Natalie  Rathbawne,  in 
reality  the  beauty  which  Dorothy  by  a  frac 
tion  fell  short  of  being,  suffered  by  compari 
son  with  her  sister.  She  was  desperately 
tired  —  that  was  in  her  smile.  But  there 
was  something  else  :  a  singular  preoccupation 
which  was  nearly  akin  to  listlessness.  That 
27 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

was  in  the  droop  of  her  eyelids,  in  the  elo 
quently  inattentive  gesture  with  which  she 
touched  a  bowl  of  Gloire  de  Dijon  roses  as 
she  passed,  and  in  her  conventionally  courte 
ous  acknowledgment  of  young  Nisbet's  greet 
ing.  And,  too,  as  she  seated  herself  beside 
her  sister  on  the  divan,  there  was  perceptible 
purpose  in  her  avoidance  of  the  lamp-light, 
her  withdrawal  into  the  dark,  deep  corner. 
To  the  conversation  which  followed  she  con 
tributed  only  such  brief  remarks  as  were  made 
necessary  by  those  occasionally  addressed  to 
her. 

The  two  women  brought  with  them  a  deli 
cious,  indefinite  atmosphere  of  out-of-doors : 
that  commingled  smell  of  cold  flowers,  and 
cold  flesh,  and  cold  fur,  which  is  to  a  draw 
ing-room  in  winter  what  a  whiff  of  salt  air  is 
in  summer  to  a  sun-baked  hillside ;  and  this 
proved  almost  too  much  for  the  self-posses 
sion,  already  tottering,  of  young  Nisbet.  He 
had  always  been  accustomed  to  have  the 
things  he  desired,  had  young  Nisbet,  but 
these,  until  now,  had  been  either  creature 
28 


THE  ODDS  AGAINST  YOUNG  NISBET 

comforts,  readily  obtainable  when  one's  fa 
ther  is  a  multi-millionaire,  or  athletic  honors, 
equally  easy  of  attainment  when  one  measures 
forty-two  around  the  chest,  and  can  do  one's 
quarter  in  something  under  fifty.  Again,  the 
Nisbets  lived  on  a  ranch,  and  when  one  does 
not  know  people  in  New  York  one  spends  the 
Sundays  in  New  Haven,  so  that  neither  the 
terms  nor  the  vacations  incidental  to  his  four 
years  at  Yale  had  equipped  him,  in  the  sense 
in  which  they  equipped  his  fellows,  for  deal 
ing  with  society. 

Now  that  he  was  in  Kenton  City,  repre 
senting  his  father's  interests,  young  Nisbet 
was  painfully  self-conscious  of  multitudinous 
shortcomings,  totally  unsuspected  hitherto. 
His  speech  was  apparently  hopelessly  incrusted 
with  slang,  his  legs  were  too  long,  his  ears 
protruded  abominably,  his  hair  was  desper 
ately  unruly,  his  freckles  and  his  capacity  for 
blushing  were  inexhaustible.  He  was  as  much 
at  ease  in  such  surroundings  as  these  in  which 
he  now  found  himself  as  a  trout  in  a  sand- 
pile.  The  great  room,  with  its  costly  furnish- 
29 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

ings,  the  tea-table  crowded  with  silver  and 
fragile  porcelain,  the  kettle  purring  content 
edly  above  the  iridescent  flame  of  the  alco 
hol  lamp,  —  above  all,  the  subtle,  indefinable 
suggestion  of  femininity  which  unknowably 
pervaded  his  surroundings,  —  all  these  en 
thralled  young  Nisbet  beyond  expression,  and 
awed  him  immeasurably,  into  the  bargain.  He 
was,  as  usual,  very  clear  in  his  own  mind  as 
to  what  he  wanted,  and  that  was  the  younger 
Miss  Rathbawne,  but,  for  the  first  time  in  his 
experience,  the  means  at  his  command  did  not 
seem  to  be  sufficient  unto  the  end.  For  the 
younger  Miss  Rathbawne  was,  very  evidently, 
not  the  sort  of  triumph  which  is  achieved  by 
recourse  to  an  imposingly  ample  bank-account, 
nor  yet  by  two  months'  loyalty  to  the  exi 
gencies  of  the  training-table.  And  this  was 
February,  and  he  had  known  her  since  July, 
and,  altogether,  it  was  highly  discouraging. 
Unwittingly,  young  Nisbet  heaved  a  sigh  so 
profound  and  so  pitiable  that  Mrs.  Wynyard 
immediately  proffered  her  sympathy. 

"  Poor,  dear  Mr.  Nisbet !     I  never  heard  a 
30 


THE  ODDS  AGAINST  YOUNG  NISBET 

more  pathetic  sigh.  Whatever  is  the  mat 
ter?" 

"  He  's  sleepy,"  put  in  Dorothy.  "  He  al 
ways  is,  after  talking  with  me  for  a  whole 
hour." 

"I  was  just  thinking,"  protested  young 
Nisbet  helplessly. 

"  Oh  !  "  exclaimed  Dorothy,  "that  's  it,  is 
it  ?  Then  pray  don't  discourage  him,  Aunt 
Helen.  He  's  really  getting  into  some  very 
good  habits,  of  late." 

"  Why,  Dorothy  I "  said  Mrs.  Rathbawne, 
digging  her  chin  reproachfully  into  her  black 
velvet  collar,  "  how  can  you  say  such  things  ? 
Mr.  Nisbet  will  think  you  have  had  no  bring 
ing  up  at  all.  And  do  sit  up  straight,  my 
dear !  " 

"  And  if  you  don't  stop  nagging,  0  most 
conscientious  of  parents,"  retorted  Dorothy, 
with  her  nose  in  the  air,  "  Mr.  Nisbet  will 
think  you  bring  people  up  by  throwing  them 
down  ! " 

"  And  slang  !     Dorothy  !  " 

"  I  always  think,"  said  Mrs.  Wynyard, 
31 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  that  Dorothy  should  have  had  a  fairy  god 
mother,  to  promise  that  every  time  she  uttered 
a  word  of  slang  a  pearl  should  pop  out  of  her 
mouth.  We  should  have  all  been  wearing 
triple  strings  down  to  our  knees  within  a  week 
after  she  learned  to  talk." 

"  That  settles  it !  "  exclaimed  Dorothy.  "  If 
you  are  going  to  side  with  the  enemy,  Aunt 
Helen,  there  is  nothing  left  for  me  to  do 
but  to  beat  a  retreat.  Come  on,  Mr.  Nisbet, 
there  is  rest  for  the  weary  in  the  conservatory 
—  that  is,  unless  you  want  another  cup  of 
tea?" 

In  the  conservatory  the  air  was  heavy  with 
the  moist,  sweet  smell  of  earth  and  moss,  and 
faintly  vibrant  with  the  tiny  plash  of  water, 
dripping  from  a  pile  of  rocks  into  the  circular 
central  pool,  wherein  fat  goldfish  went  idly  to 
and  fro,  nuzzling  floating  specks  upon  the 
surface.  Through  the  polished  green  of  the 
surrounding  palms  and  rubber-plants  stared 
gardenias  and  camelias;  below,  between  maid 
enhair  and  sword  -  ferns,  winked  the  little 
waxen  blossoms  of  fuchsias  and  begonias  :  at 
32 


THE  ODDS  AGAINST  YOUNG  NISBET 

intervals  poinsettia  flared  audaciously  among 
its  more  quietly  dressed  neighbors;  and,  in 
the  far  corners  the  golden  spheres  were  swell 
ing  to  fairly  respectable  proportions  on  the 
branches  of  dwarf  orange-trees. 

Dorothy  installed  herself  on  a  bench,  and 
young  Nisbet  perched  upon  the  rim  of  the 
pool,  and  stared  at  vacancy. 

"  It 's  corking,  in  here,"  he  said,  after  a 
moment. 

"  Is  n't  it,  though  ?  "  agreed  Dorothy,  with 
a  nod  of  approval.  "  It 's  my  favorite  part  of 
the  house.  You  can't  imagine  how  many 
hours  I  spend  here,  sewing,  or  reading,  or 
fiddling  with  the  fish  and  all  those  funny 
little  plants  under  the  palms." 

"  You  bet ! "  said  young  Nisbet,  with  en 
thusiasm,  if  not  much  relevancy.  "  I  've  just 
got  a  picture  of  that,  you  know.  Besides, 
we  've  spent  a  good  many  of  those  hours 
together  in  here,  these  past  few  months." 

"  Oh,  not  a  tenth  of  them ! "  exclaimed 
Dorothy,  "  and  then  only  the  very  shortest." 

"  Oh  !"  said  young  Nisbet  gloomily.  His 
33 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

fertile  imagination  was  immediately  peopled 
with  the  forms  and  faces  of  those  who  had 
shared  the  other  hours,  a  score  of  eligible  and 
attractive  young  men,  his  moral,  mental,  and 
physical  superiors  in  every  conceivable  par 
ticular,  faultlessly  arrayed,  scintillating  with 
wit,  and  surpassingly  skilled  in  the  way  to 
win  a  woman.  The  conservatory  was  full  of 
them.  He  saw  them  in  every  imaginable 
posture :  feeding  the  goldfish,  watering  the 
begonias,  lool^ing  up  into  Dorothy's  eyes  as 
they  sat  at  her  feet,  looking  down  at  her 
slender  fingers,  as  she  pinned  gardenias  to 
their  lapels.  And  these  had  been  granted  the 
long  hours,  he  only  the  short.  Inwardly, 
young  Nisbet  groaned;  aloud,  as  was  his 
wont,  he  said  the  wrong  thing. 

"  They  seemed  long  enough  to  me." 

"  Well!"  said  Dorothy. 

"  Oh,  hang  it  all !  I  did  n't  mean  that. 
What  an  oaf  I  am  !  " 

"Never  mind,"  said  Dorothy  consolingly. 
"  I  know  you  well  enough  to  understand  you, 
by  this  time."  She  smoothed  her  skirt  re- 
34 


THE  ODDS  AGAINST  YOUNG  NISBET 

flectively.  "  Let  me  see,"  she  added,  "  what 
were  we  talking  about  when  we  were  swamped 
by  the  family  ?  " 

"I  think,"  answered  young  Nisbet,  with 
one  of  his  illogical  blushes,  "  that  I  had  just 
asked  you  what  sort  of  a  man  you  thought  you 
would  like  to  marry.  I  remember  I  was  on 
the  point  of  saying  that  I  thought  perhaps 
you  had  ideas  like  — er —  like  your  mother's." 

Dorothy  raised  her  eyebrows. 

"Like  the  Mater's?" 

"  About  a  man  being  big  and  prominent, 
and  all  that,  you  know,"  floundered  young 
Nisbet.  "  She  always  makes  such  a  point 
of  Barclay's  being  Lieutenant-Governor  —  I 
thought  you  might  be  for  the  same  kind  of 
thing." 

Dorothy  looked  him  over,  with  a  whimsical 
smile,  as  he  was  speaking.  There  was  a  deep 
bronze  light  in  his  close-cropped,  ruddy  hair, 
and  his  skin  was  very  smooth  and  clean.  His 
eyes  were  appealing,  with  that  unspeakable 
eloquence  of  simple  honesty  which  is  almost 
pathetic.  Under  his  blue  cloth  coat,  the 
35 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

great  muscles  of  his  shoulders  and  chest  stood 
out  magnificently,  rippling  the  fabric  as  he 
stirred,  as  if  eager  to  throw  off  their  tram 
mels,  and  be  given  free  play.  About  him 
there  was  a  distinct  suggestion  of  sane  living 
and  regular  exercise.  For  all  his  freckles,  and 
his  nose  that  was  too  little,  and  his  mouth 
that  was  too  large,  "  the  ugliest  of  the  Nisbet 
boys  "  —  he  had  often  been  called  that !  — 
was  very  emphatically  good  to  look  upon. 

"  A  big  man  ?  "  answered  Dorothy.  "  Yes, 
I  think  I  should  like  to  marry  a  big  man.  I 
want  him  very  clean,  too  —  very  clean  !  — 
morally,  as  well  as  otherwise.  And  honest  as 
the  day  is  long.  And  not  too  bright !  I 
don't  want  to  be  continually  trying  to  live  up 
to  his  brain,  and  continually  failing.  It  is 
fatal  to  one's  self-respect,  that  sort  of  thing. 
Then,  he  must  be  heels  over  head  in  love 
with  me  —  for  keeps  !  And  then  —  oh,  he 
must  be  a  man,  a  man  through  and  through, 
who  would  n't  think  anything  he  did  n't  dare 
to  say,  nor  say  anything  he  did  n't  dare  to 
do  !  That 's  what  I  want,  and  if  I  can  get 
36 


THE  ODDS  AGAINST  YOUNG  NISBET 

it,  all  the  prominence  in  the  world  may  go 
hang!" 

"  That 's  just  about  John  Barclay,  though," 
said  young  Nisbet,  "  with  the  prominence 
thrown  in." 

"  Well,  I  'm  not  saying  I  would  n't  have 
married  John  Barclay,  if  I  'd  had  the  chance. 
He  comes  pretty  close  to  being  all  I  would 
ask  for,  in  the  way  of  a  man.  But,  unfortu 
nately,  there  's  only  one  John  Barclay,  and, 
like  the  rest  of  the  world,  he  looked  directly 
over  poor  little  Me's  shoulders,  and  saw  only 
Natalie.  Good  gracious  !  Who  could  blame 
him  ?  She  's  the  loveliest  little  thing  in  the 
world  !  But,  at  all  events,  she  nabbed  him, 
so  all  that  is  left  for  me  to  do  is  to  grin  and 
bear  the  disappointment  as  best  I  may.  He 's 
very  much  of  a  man,  John  Barclay  is !  " 

"Yes,"  assented  young  Nisbet,  somewhat 
mournfully.  "  I  can  see  that  would  be  the 
kind  of  a  chap  that  the  dames  would  stand 
for  everlastingly." 

"  But,  as  I  said  before,"  continued  Dorothy, 
"  it 's  not  because  he 's  Lieutenant-Governor, 
37 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

whatever  the  Mater  may  think  about  it,  that 
I  admire  him.  It 's  just  because  he  's  so  big, 
and  earnest,  anct  loyal,  and  —  and  "  — 

"  White,"  said  young  Nisbet. 

"  Yes,  is  n't  he  ?    That 's  it  —  white ! " 

"  I  can  understand  a  man  like  that  getting 
spliced,"  observed  young  Nisbet  very  ear 
nestly.  "  He  has  so  much  to  offer  a  girl. 
But  as  for  the  rest  of  us  "  — 

"  Oh,  as  to  that,"  broke  in  Dorothy  airily, 
"  John  Barclay  is  n't  the  only  man  in  the 
world,  by  any  manner  of  means  !  Besides, 
Natalie  having  already  bagged  him,  it  is  plain 
I  shall  have  to  look  elsewhere." 

There  was  a  long  pause,  broken  only  by 
the  plash  of  the  water,  which  seemed,  as  the 
seconds  slipped  by,  to  grow  amazingly  loud. 
Then  young  Nisbet  raised  his  eyes,  and 
looked  at  her,  blushing  deplorably. 

"  I  wish  "  —  he  said,  "  I  wish  "  — 

"  Dorothy  !  Do  excuse  me,  Mr.  Nisbet, 
but  really  —  dinner  at  seven,  you  know,  and 
this  child  must  be  thinking  about  dressing. 
She  takes  ages  !  " 


THE  ODDS  AGAINST  YOUNG  NISBET 

Mrs.  Rathbawne  folded  her  fat  hands,  and 
stood  waiting,  at  the  conservatory  door. 
Young  Nisbet  rose. 

"  Of  course  !  "  he  said.  "  I  'm  always  so 
stupid  about  these  things.  Good-by,  Miss 
Rathbawne.  I  'm  off  to  New  York  to-morrow 
on  some  confounded  business,  so  I  probably 
won't  see  you  for  a  week  or  so.  Good-by." 

"  Would  you  mind  going  out  by  the  hall, 
Mr.  Nisbet  ? "  suggested  Mrs.  Rathbawne. 
"Mr.  Barclay  is  in  the  drawing-room  with 
my  elder  daughter,  and  he  is  so  greatly  occu 
pied  with  affairs  of  state  that  they  have  very 
little  time  together.  I  hate  to  have  them  in 
terrupted.  One  can  do  so  much  harm  some 
times,  you  know,  by  thoughtlessly  interrupt 
ing  people  who  are  in  love  with  each  other. 
Thank  you  so  much ;  good-by.  Do  try  to 
stand  a  little  straighter,  Dorothy,  my  dear." 


39 


m 

A   FACE    IN   THE    CROWD 

AT  the  sound  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor's 
voice  at  the  front  door,  Mrs.  Rathbawne  had 
beaten  a  hasty  retreat,  dragging  her  immensely 
edified  half-sister  in  her  wake,  so  that  when 
he  stepped  through  the  curtained  doorway 
Barclay  found  Natalie  alone. 

"  I  'm  so  glad  you  could  come  early,"  she 
said,  from  the  corner  of  the  divan.  "  Now  we 
can  have  a  talk  before  dinner.  I  seem  to  see 
so  little  of  you.  I  suppose  that 's  the  penalty 
attached  to  being  engaged  to  the  second  big 
gest  man  in  the  state.  I  'm  sometimes  jealous, 
Johnny  boy,  of  Alleghenia's  place  in  your 
affections." 

"  You  're  the  only  person  in  the  world  who 
has  no  need  to  be,"  laughed  Barclay.  "  What 
is  the  news  ?  " 

"  Probably,"  said  Natalie,  "  the  only  inter- 
40 


A  FACE  IN  THE  CROWD 

esting  items  are  that  you  are  cold  and  a  little 
cross,  and  that  you  want  a  big  chair  and  a  cup 
of  tea  and  some  hot  toast." 

"  Your  summary  of  the  situation  is  so  ex 
haustive,"  said  Barclay,  "  that  there  seems  to 
be  nothing  left  for  me  to  say,  except  that  you 
are  the  most  beautiful  girl  in  the  world,  and 
that  I  think  I  must  stand  still  a  moment  and 
just  look  at  you,  before  I  accept  any  of  the 
luxuries  you  suggest." 

"  I  can't  imagine  how  you  know  that  I  'm 
so  beautiful.  You  can't  possibly  see  me  in 
this  dark  corner.  But  I  see  I  've  made  one 
mistake  !  You  are  distinctly  not  cross." 

"Why  should  I  be?"  asked  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  standing  before  the  table,  with  his 
long  legs  far  apart,  and  rocking  from  his  toes 
to  his  heels  and  back  again.  "  When  a  man 
has  been  walking  for  half  an  hour  through  a 
gnawing  February  air,  and  suddenly,  out  of 
ah*  proportion  to  his  deserts,  comes  full  upon 
a  rose  in  bloom,  is  that  a  reason  for  being 
cross  ?  " 

She  was  very  small,  and  deliciously  delicate, 
41 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

was  Natalie  Rathbawne,  like  a  little  Dresden 
image,  with  an  arbutus-pink  complexion,  brown 
hair,  and  deep-blue  eyes,  now  clouded  thought 
fully,  but  oftener  alight  with  humor,  or  dilat 
ing  and  clearing  under  the  impetus  of  con 
versation.  A  doll-like  daintiness  of  tiny  pleats 
and  ruffles,  fresh  bows,  and  fine  stitching  per 
vaded  everything  she  wore,  and  if  her  voice 
inspired  the  hackneyed  comparison  of  running 
water,  it  was  of  water  running  under  moss, 
the  sound  whereof  is  as  different  from  that  of 
an  open  brook  as  is  music  from  discord.  To 
John  Barclay's  thinking  the  barely  believable 
fact  that  this  little  miracle  of  beauty  —  this 
pocket- Venus,  as  he  was  wont  to  call  her  — 
actually  belonged  to  him  remained  one  of  the 
insoluble  mysteries  of  life.  He  could  not,  in 
the  thraldom  of  his  present  Elysium,  be  ex 
pected  to  remember,  even  if  he  had  ever  fully 
realized,  that  he  himself  was  tall,  broad-shoul 
dered,  clean-cut,  and  clean-lived,  with  the  un 
mistakable  stamp  of  the  American  gentleman 
on  his  linen  and  his  simple,  well-fitting  clothes, 
and  the  evidences  of  a  sane,  regular  existence 
42  ' 


A  FACE  IN  THE  CROWD 

in  his  steady  hands  and  his  clear  eyes  and  his 
firm  mouth,  —  a  man  of  whom  any  woman 
might  be,  and  of  whom  this  particular  woman 
was,,  extravagantly  proud.  For  the  first  trib 
ute  which  a  lover  lays  at  the  feet  of  his  lady 
is,  in  ordinary,  the  stamped-upon  and  abused 
summary  of  his  personal  attributes,  which,  in 
his  own  mind,  he  has  taken  remarkable  pains 
to  render  as  despicable  as  possible,  and  which, 
in  hers,  her  imagination  contrives  not  only  to 
rehabilitate,  but  to  imbue  with  a  preposter 
ously  exaggerated  splendor. 

"  I  wonder,"  added  the  Lieutenant-Gov 
ernor  presently,  "  whether  when  gentlemen 
are  invited  to  tea  they  are  supposed  to  kiss  the 
hostess  oh  entering." 

"  If  you  are  in  any  doubt  about  it,"  ob 
served  Natalie,  with  an  air  of  superb  indiffer 
ence,  "  I  advise  you  to  write  for  advice  to  the 
etiquette  editor  of  the  '  Kenton  City  Record/ 
She  is  probably  sixty-two  years  old,  looks  like 
an  English  walnut,  has  never  had  a  proposal 
in  her  life,  and  so  knows  all  about  "  — 

What  the  lady  in  question  was  supposed  to 
43 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

know  all  about  was  for  sufficient  reasons  never 
made  clear.  There  are  occasions,  despite  the 
manuals  of  polite  behavior,  when  interruption 
cannot  with  any  approach  to  justice  be  re 
garded  as  rudeness. 

Barclay  heaved  a  long  sigh  of  satisfaction 
as  he  took  his  tea  and  two  thin  slices  of  toast 
and  settled  himself  in  his  chair. 

"  Do  you  think  it  possible,"  he  asked,  "  for 
a  man  to  be  asleep  for  six  weeks,  dreaming 
that  he  is  in  another  garden  of  Eden,  with  an 
Eve  in  a  French  frock,  who  has  no  partiality 
for  apples  "  — 

"  I  adore  apples !  "  said  the  girl. 

"  And  then  wake  up,"  he  continued,  disre 
garding  the  interruption,  "  and  find  that  the 
dream  was  only  a  dream,  after  all,  —  that  he 's 
only  a  poor  dog  of  a  politician,  that  the  gar 
den  is  only  a  dingy  office,  and  the  flower-beds 
full  of  briers  and  pitfalls  ?  " 

"  You  've  been  eating  pie  for  lunch  again," 

said  Natalie  severely,  "  and  it  always  makes 

you  morbid.     No  ;  I  don't  think  it  possible  at 

all.     If  I  did,  I  should  hang  on  to  your  coat- 

44 


A  FACE   IN  THE  CEOWD 

tails  like  fury  and  keep  you  in  dreamland, 
whether  you  wanted  to  wake  up  or  not." 

"  It 's  all  too  good  to  be  true  !  How  dare 
you  be  so  beautiful  ?  " 

"John"  — 

"  It 's  gospel  truth  !  " 

Barclay  paused  for  a  moment,  and  then 
went  on  more  seriously. 

"  You  're  tired,  littlest  and  most  lovely  in 
the  world,  and  troubled  about  something." 

Natalie  laughed  shortly,  with  evident  ef 
fort. 

"  "Why  do  you  say  that  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Why  not  ?  Don't  you  suppose  I  know  ? 
Do  you  think  you  could  say  a  hundred  words 
without  my  perceiving  that  ?  It  almost  seems 
to  me  that  the  knowledge  that  you  were  un 
happy  would  make  its  way  to  me,  no  matter 
what  distance  separated  us,  and  that  I  should 
come  to  you  at  top-speed  to  set  things  right. 
I  've  hardly  seen  your  face,  and  yet  I  know 
your  dear,  deep  eyes  are  troubled ;  I  had 
barely  heard  your  voice  before  I  felt  its  weari 
ness." 

45 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

Natalie  bent  forward  until  her  face  came 
under  the  light. 

"  Yes,  I  'm  tired,"  she  said  ;  "  or,  rather,  I 
was  tired  when  I  first  came  in.  I  'm  better 
now,  since  I  've  had  my  tea.  But  you  're 
right,  Johnny  boy,  —  there  's  something  more. 
I  'm  troubled,  desperately  troubled  and  heart 
sick.  I've  been  trying  to  make  myself  be 
lieve  that  it 's  all  imagination,  that  I  have  no 
reason  for  feeling  as  I  do;  but  I'm  afraid 
I  can't  manage  it.  John,  I  thought  I  saw 
Spencer  Cavendish  to-day." 

"Spencer  Cavendish?  Are  you  sure?  I 
had  almost  forgotten  his  existence !  —  Of 
course,  it 's  not  impossible ;  but  I  imagined 
he  had  taken  root  in  some  South  Sea  island 
long  ago.  That's  what  he  was  always  ex 
pecting  to  do,  you  remember.  How  I  have 
hated  that  man  !  " 

"  You  were  good  friends  once." 

"  Yes,  and  should  be  yet,  if  I  had  not  been 

the  most  suspicious  mortal  that  ever  breathed, 

and  he  the  most  hot-blooded.     There  was  a 

reason,  you  know,  —  a  little  reason,  but  the 

46 


A  FACE  IN  THE  CKOWD 

most  important  in  the  world  !  I  was  jealous, 
Natalie,  insanely  jealous.  I  could  forgive 
him  everything  now." 

"  That  hurts  me,  John.  I  'm  so  happy, 
boy  dear,  that  I  want  everybody  else  to  be 
happy  as  well.  Oh,  why  is  it  that  a  girl  must 
always  have  that  one  thought  on  her  mind, 
which  is  so  hard,  so  hard  ?  —  I  mean  the 
thought  of  the  good  men,  the  true,  brave, 
loyal  men,  whom  she  has  cared  for,  who  have 
been  her  best  friends  perhaps,  and  yet  whom 
she  has  been  forced  to  hurt  bitterly  because 
they  asked  her  for  something  she  was  not 
able  to  give.  A  man  has  so  much  easier  a 
road  !  His  happiness,  when  it  comes  to  him, 
isn't  clouded  by  the  thought  of  those  to 
whom  it  means  the  loss  of  their  last  remnant 
of  hope.  They  are  there,  the  disappointed 
ones,  but  he  does  n't  know,  he  does  n't  know ! 
He  has  n't  on  his  conscience  the  memory  of 
hearts  cruelly  wounded,  —  wounded  even  to 
death.  He  does  n't  in  memory  see  the  eager 
ness  in  a  good  friend's  eyes  die  to  disillusion, 
to  hopelessness,  to  bitter,  bitter  sorrow.  He 
47 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

doesn't  have  to  remember  how  the  life  died 
suddenly  out  of  a  voice  that  had  been  tender 
and  eloquent.  He  doesn't  sicken  with  the 
thought  that  his  hand  has  given  a  blow  so 
merciless,  so  unmerited,  and  yet  so  inevitable. 
Worst  of  all,  for  the  girl,  is  the  after-discov 
ery  that  her  decision  has  made  a  difference  — 
a  hideous,  irreparable  difference,  —  that  the 
man  can  never  be  the  same  again,  —  that  she 
has  wrecked  a  life  with  a  word  !  Oh,  there 
ought  to  be  some  way  !  The  man  ought  not 
to  ask  unless  he  is  sure  of  the  reply !  It 's 
too  much  responsibility  to  force  upon  the 
girl! 

"  So  with  Spencer  Cavendish,"  she  went  on 
after  a  moment.     "  In  spite  of  all  —  in  spite 
of  all,  John !  —  I  can't  forget  that  he  loved 
me.     I  think  a  woman  never  forgets  that." 
"  Until  the  man  marries  another  woman  !  " 
"  Ah,"  said   Natalie,  with   a   faint   smile, 
"  then  least  of  all,  John  !    And  besides,  Spen 
cer  never  married.     He  knew  I  loved  you, 
long  before  you  did  !     I  felt  that  it  was  due 
to  him  that  he  should  know;  he  was  my  oldest 
48 


A  FACE  IN  THE  CROWD 

and  best  friend  then,  and  so  I  told  him! 
And  then  he  went  out  of  my  life  —  out  of  his 
own  —  into  darkness.  I  can't  forget  it !  I 
can't  forget  that  I  broke  up  your  friend 
ship"— 

"Dearest!" 

"  I  did,  John  !  It  was  n't  my  fault,  per 
haps,  nor  any  one's,  for  that  matter,  but  I  did, 
just  the  same.  Besides,  it  wasn't  only  the 
question  of  your  friendship.  What  hurt  me 
most  was  the  wilful  wreck  of  his  life.  And 
yet,  how  could  I  have  known  what  was  going 
to  happen?  What  could  I  do  when  it  did 
happen?  He  was  beyond  my  reach.  He 
didn't  even  answer  the  letter  I  wrote,  ask 
ing  him  to  come  and  see  me.  I  thought,  if 
he  cared  for  me,  I  could  save  him.  But  it 
was  just  as  he  had  said,  —  he  must  have 
everything,  or  he  would  have  nothing  at  all. 
And  so  he  went  wrong  —  oh,  so  terribly,  ter 
ribly  wrong !  —  he  who  might  have  been  any 
thing,  if  it  had  n't  been  for  me.  I  can  never 
forget  it  —  never  !  I  can  never  forget  the 
pity  of  it,  the  tragedy  of  its  awful  publicity, 
49 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

the  newspapers,  the  scandal,  people's  sneers, 
his  mother  dying  of  a  broken  heart  —  and  I 
did  it  !  Think  of  it !  Think  of  a  man  like 
Spencer  Cavendish  in  the  police  courts,  not 
once,  but  a  dozen  times.  Think  of  what  Jus 
tice  Meyer  called  him  at  last,  and  what  was 
printed  in  the  papers,  — '  a  common  drunk ! ' 
Oh,  John!" 

"  Natalie,  Natalie  ! "  broke  in  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor.  "  Why  should  you  think 
of  such  things,  brood  over  them,  above  all, 
blame  them  on  yourself  ?  How  could  it  pos 
sibly  have  been  your  fault  ?  how  could  you 
possibly  have  helped  it  ?  He  was  a  reckless, 
hot-headed  chap  —  brilliant,  of  course,  but 
a  slave  to  his  impulses  and  his  nerves.  If 
Lochinvars  could  act  with  impunity  nowa 
days,  he  'd  have  ridden  up  to  your  door  on 
a  black  horse,  killed  Thomas,  and  carried  you 
off  across  his  pommel.  As  it  was,  he  let 
himself  go,  and  disgraced  himself.  I  tried  to 
talk  to  him,  just  as  you  did,  but  he  would  n't 
have  it  —  called  me  '  an  insolent  cub  'and  — 
er  —  worse.  I  had  to  give  it  up.  It  was  all 
50 


A  FACE  IN  THE  CKOWD 

very  distressing,  I  admit,  but  then,  dear,  it 
was  all  so  long  ago.  He  hasn't  been  in 
Kenton  City  for  two  years  and  more,  and 
I've  no  doubt  he  pulled  himself  together 
long  since,  and  is  leading  a  straight  life 
somewhere.  He  had  lots  in  him,  with  all  his 
recklessness.  A  chap  like  that,  with  no  fam 
ily  hanging  about  his  neck,  and  with  his 
brains,  and  only  his  own  living  to  make,  could 
forge  ahead  almost  anywhere." 

"  But  John,  I  'm  sure  I  saw  him  to-day, 
and  suppose  I  should  tell  you  that  he  was  — 
begging  ?  " 

Barclay  almost  smiled  at  her  earnest,  trou 
bled  face,  as  he  replaced  his  cup  on  the  table. 

"  Begging?  "  he  answered.  "  I  'm  afraid  I 
could  n't  bring  myself  to  believe  you,  violet- 
eyes.  Even  granting  that  he  has  faUen  as 
low  as  that,  which  I  should  think  one  of  the 
most  unlikely  things  in  the  world,  it  would 
hardly  be  in  Kenton  City,  would  it  ?  —  a 
place  where  his  face  is  known  to  a  thousand 
people.  Tell  me  about  it.  What  makes  you 
think  you  saw  him  ?  " 
51 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  I  was  shopping  this  morning,"  said  Nata 
lie,  "  all  alone ;  and  as  I  came  out  of  Ken- 
drick's  and  was  just  about  to  get  into  the 
brougham,  I  saw  that  some  one  was  holding 
the  door  open  for  me.  I  looked  up  care 
lessly,  as  one  naturally  would  under  the  cir 
cumstances,  and,  John  —  I  know  it  was  he  ! 
At  first  I  thought  so,  and  then  I  did  n't,  be 
cause  he  was  so  changed,  so  thin  and  pale, 
and  because  he  had  a  beard.  So,  before  I 
thought  what  I  was  doing,  I  stepped  into  the 
brougham,  and  put  my  hand  on  the  door  to 
close  it.  Then  I  looked  up  again,  and  saw 
his  face,  peering  in  at  me  through  the  glass, 
and  that  time  there  could  n't  be  any  mistake. 
It  was  !  I  was  going  to  speak,  but  he  was 
gone  in  a  flash.  I  saw  him  disappearing  in 
the  crowd  before  the  shop  —  slinking,  John  ! 
—  with  that  dreadfully  pathetic  air  which 
all  beggars  have,  his  shoulders  all  hunched 
up,  and  his  head  bent,  and  his  hands  in 
his  pockets.  He  was  cold,  John,  I  could  see 
that,  and,  no  doubt,  hungry  !  And  there  I 
was,  in  that  dreadful  little  brougham,  with  my 
52 


A  FACE  IN  THE  CROWD 

hateful  furs,  as  warm  as  toast,  and  I  did  n't 
even  speak  to  him.  I  could  have  died  of 
shame ! " 

She  buried  her  face  in  her  hands,  bending 
low  over  the  tea-table.  Barclay  was  leaning 
forward  in  his  chair,  his  lips  set. 

"  It 's  impossible,"  he  murmured,  "  impos 
sible  ! " 

The  girl  looked  up  suddenly,  a  white  spot 
in  the  centre  of  each  cheek,  where  the  pres 
sure  of  her  thumbs  had  left  its  mark  in  the 
tender,  pink  flesh. 

"  Improbable  —  yes  !  "  she  said,  "  but  not 
impossible.  Oh,  I  wish  I  could  believe  other 
wise,  but  I  'm  sure,  I  'm  sure  !  Oh,  John  ! 
You  are  so  big,  so  strong,  so  powerful  now  ! 
Think  of  it  —  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Alle- 
ghenia !  You  can  do  anything.  And  if  he 
is  here  in  Kenton  City,  homeless,  cold,  starv 
ing,  you  must  find  and  help  him  —  for  me, 
Johnny  boy,  for  me  !  " 

The  Lieutenant-Governor  had  risen,  and 
was  pacing  up  and  down  the  room,  with  his 
brows  knit,  and  his  strong,  white  hands  chaf- 
53 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

ing  slowly  against  each  other,  palm  to  palm. 
It  seemed  impossible,  indeed  !  Spencer  Cav 
endish,  the  last  of  one  of  Alleghenia's  proud 
est  families ;  Spencer  Cavendish,  the  brilliant 
young  society  pet  and  sportsman ;  Spencer 
Cavendish,  the  wit,  the  viveur  —  a  beggar 
in  the  street  ?  And  yet  — 

The  scandal  of  Cavendish's  sudden  and 
reckless  plunge  into  sodden,  open  dissipation, 
two  years  before,  freshly  called  to  Barclay's 
mind  by  Natalie's  words,  had  pointed  to  al 
most  any  finale,  however  debased,  however 
sordid.  Barclay  mentally  invoked  the  face 
of  his  former  friend,  as  he  had  seen  it  on  the 
occasion  of  their  last  meeting,  flushed,  swol 
len-eyed,  insolent,  the  fine  patrician  mouth 
hideously  contorted  and  maundering  insults, 
filth,  banality. 

"  And  I  did  it ! "  the  girl  was  saying. 
"  Don't  forget  that,  John.  Unwittingly,  igno- 
rantly,  helplessly,  if  you  will,  I  did  it,  just 
the  same.  If  I  could  have  loved  him,  I  could 
have  saved  him.  As  it  was,  I  had  to  send 
him  away,  and  he  has  come  to  —  to  this! 
54 


A  FACE   IN  THE  CROWD 

Oh,  don't  you  see?  Don't  you  understand 
that  something  more  than  chance  has  crossed 
my  path  with  his,  just  at  this  moment  of  my 
supremest  happiness,  and  of  his  utter  degrada 
tion  ?  My  duty  is  plain.  It  is  to  help  him, 
to  uplift  him,  to  make  a  man  of  him  once 
more  —  to  undo  what  I  have  done  !  I  'm  re 
sponsible  —  and  I  'm  helpless !  What  can  I 
do  ?  What  can  any  girl  do  in  such  a  case  ? 
I  can't  go  out  into  the  streets  and  search  for 
him.  I  can  only  turn  to  you,  Johnny  boy, 
and  rely  upon  your  aid." 

"  But,  Natalie  dearest,"  said  the  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor  slowly,  "  don't  you  see  that  it 
is  impossible,  all  this?  I  cannot  allow  such 
an  affair  to  come  into  your  pure,  sweet  life, 
bringing  with  it  the  knowledge  of  the  depths 
to  which  men  may  fall,  and  the  shadow  of 
misery  and  degradation.  I  cannot  bear  that, 
in  even  the  remotest  way,  you  should  blame 
yourself  for  that  which  it  was  never  in  your 
power  to  prevent  or  remedy.  A  man  —  this 
man  —  has  no  business  to  cast  on  you  the 
blight  of  his  own  weakness  and  folly,  to  es- 
55 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

tablish  a  relation  of  cause  and  effect  between 
your  refusal  of  him  and  the  subsequent  trans 
formation  of  a  gentleman  into  a  common 
drunkard."  ^ 

"John!" 

"  Ah,  don't  think  me  bitter,  dearest !  If 
the  man  you  saw  was  actually  Cavendish,  I 
pity  him  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart.  But 
it  was  his  hands  which  built  up  the  barrier 
between  his  life  and  ours,  and  it  must  be  his 
that  tear  it  down.  It  is  intolerable  that  in 
his  degradation  he  should  come  into  your  life 
again,  and  have,  even  in  your  imagination,  the 
smallest  claim  upon  you  —  intolerable  !  The 
paths  of  my  love  for  you  and  my  duty  to 
ward  you  are  identical  in  this  respect.  There 
can  be  no  alternative  —  no  quibbling.  At 
least  until  he  has  redeemed  himself,  if  re 
demption  is  still  possible,  the  thought  of  him, 
his  presence,  his  misdoings,  must  not  and 
shall  not  contaminate  the  atmosphere  in  which 
you  live  and  move." 

Natalie  had  risen  suddenly,  her  eyes  ablaze. 

"  Ah,  John  !  "  she  said.  "  Am  I  then  a 
56 


A  FACE  IN  THE  CROWD 

toy,  a  sugar  figure,  that  I  must  be  packed  in 
cotton,  and  shielded  from  all  knowledge  of 
the  evil  in  the  world  ?  Is  that  what  it  means 
to  be  a  woman  ?  Ah,  no  !  It  is  bad  enough 
to  be  hemmed  in  by  the  wretched  conven 
tionalities  which  prevent  my  doing  openly 
what  I  conceive  to  be  my  duty,  without  add 
ing  to  the  restrictions  that  actually  exist  the 
imaginary  one  that  I  must  not  even  think  of 
the  misery,  the  wretchedness,  the  sordid  vice 
which  abound  just  across  the  borders  of  the 
comfortable  little  world  in  which  I  live.  And 
see,  boy  dear  !  —  with  all  the  force  of  my 
conviction  that  things  should  be  otherwise, 
yet  I  am  reasonable.  I  don't  ask  to  see 
Spencer,  or  to  have  an  active  hand  in  his 
redemption.  I  realize  that  the  time  for  that 
has  passed,  and  that  you  are  just  in  saying 
that  he  must  come  to  me,  not  I  to  him  —  and 
come  to  me  another  than  the  man  he  is  to 
day.  Anything  else  is  impossible  :  that  I  see 
and  accept.  But  the  hideous  fact  remains. 
A  man  who  loved  me  once,  who  offered  me 
all  that  a  man  can  offer  a  woman,  is  walking 
57 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

the  streets  of  Kenton  City,  cold,  hungry, 
homeless  —  a  beggar  !  What  business  is  it 
of  yours  or  mine  what  his  past  follies  and 
weaknesses  were  ?  His  temptations  may  have 
been  beyond  our  understanding,  but  his  pre 
sent  plight  is  not.  He  is  begging  —  begging 
at  our  very  doors  —  a  man  whom  we  have 
called  by  the  name  of  friend !  I  can't  help 
him.  All  I  can  do,  as  I  said  before,  is  to 
turn  to  you,  whom  I  love  better  than  ah1  the 
world,  and  ask  you  to  save  him,  in  my  stead. 
Ah,  boy,  boy  !  —  I  've  given  you  all  I  refused 
to  him,  taken  at  your  hands  all  I  put  away  at 
his.  You  can  afford  to  be  generous  !  " 

The  Lieutenant-Govern  or  came  slowly  to 
ward  her,  and,  placing  his  hands  upon  her 
shoulders,  looked  her  in  the  eyes. 

"  Dearest  and  Most  Beautiful,"  he  said 
tenderly,  "you  are  right.  I  hope  —  I  be 
lieve  —  that  you  were  overwrought,  fanciful, 
that  it  is  not  true.  But  if  it  is,  if  Cavendish 
is  begging  in  our  streets,  then,  so  surely  as  I 
am  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Alleghenia,  I  will 
pull  him  out  of  them,  and  make  a  man  of 
58 


A  FACE  IN  THE   CROWD 

him,  if  it  takes  a  month  and  every  police 
officer  and  detective  in  Kenton  City  to  find 
him.  And  that  not  alone  for  your  sake,  ten- 
derest-hearted,  but  for  mine.  I  can  afford  to 
be  generous,  God  bless  your  sweet  face,  I  can 
indeed !  " 

And  he  bent  over  reverently,  and  kissed 
her  hand. 


IV 

AS    BETWEEN    FRIENDS 

THERE  were  but  two  guests  at  the  Rath- 
bawnes'  dinner-table  that  night,  the  Lieuten 
ant-Governor  and  Colonel  Amos  Broadcastle, 
a  veteran  of  the  Rebellion,  bre vetted  Major 
for  conspicuous  gallantry  at  Lookout  Moun 
tain,  and  now  commanding  officer  of  the 
Ninth  Regiment,  N.  G.  A.,  the  crack  militia 
organization  of  Kenton  City.  Colonel  Broad- 
castle  had  seen  his  'sixty-five,  but  his  broad, 
square  shoulders,  his  rigid  carriage,  and  his 
black  hair,  even  now  only  slightly  touched 
with  gray,  clipped  twenty  years  from  his  ap 
pearance.  His  eye  was  one  that  was  famous 
throughout  the  Alleghenia  Guard,  —  an  eye 
accustomed  to  control,  not  a  single  man,  or 
two,  or  three,  but  a  thousand,  moving  as  one 
at  his  command ;  an  eye  enforcing  obedience 
immediate,  machine-like,  and  unquestioning. 
60 


AS   BETWEEN  FEIENDS 

It  had  been  a  momentous  day  for  the  Ninth 
when  Amos  Broadcastle,  retiring1  from  the 
staff  of  a  former  Governor,  had  accepted,  first 
a  majority  therein,  and  then,  three  months 
later,  its  colonelcy.  He  found  ten  companies, 
in  no  one  instance  exceeding  twenty  files 
front.  He  found  a  field  and  staff  vain,  in 
competent,  and  jealous ;  company  officers  de 
ficient  alike  in  their  knowledge  of  tactics  and 
in  their  conception  of  their  responsibilities ; 
sergeants,  corporals,  and  lances  chosen  with 
out  any  view  to  fitness,  and  ignorant  and 
tyrannical  in  their  positions  ;  and  finally,  the 
rank  and  file  lazy,  untidy,  and  frankly  con 
temptuous  of  the  school  of  the  soldier.  Some 
one  had  once  said  of  the  Ninth  that  there  was 
consolation  to  be  found  in  the  mortifying 
knowledge  that  the  men  composing  it  were 
there  with  the  unique  view  of  escaping  jury 
duty.  The  consolation  lay  in  the  probability 
that  such  infernally  bad  soldiers  would  have 
made  jurors  quite  as  infernally  bad. 

But  Broadcastle,  a  born  disciplinarian  and 
a  trained  tactician,  was  now  in  a  position  to 
61 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

echo,  albeit  in  a  different  spirit,  the  arrogance 
of  Louis :  "  Nous  avons  change  tout  cela  !  " 
Ten  years  had  sufficed  to  change  the  indolent 
and  incompetent  Ninth  of  Alleghenia  into  a 
regiment  rivaling  in  prestige  the  Seventh  of 
New  York.  The  commissioned  officers  were 
thrust  upon,  rather  than  achieved  by,  their 
companies,  but,  once  established  in  their  re 
spective  positions,  proceeded  without  excep 
tion  to  justify,  by  their  energy  and  ability, 
their  selection  from  the  best  element  of  Ken- 
ton  City.  Among  the  enlisted  men  the  ex 
ponents  of  the  old  spirit  of  sloth,  indifference, 
and  laxity  were  weeded  out  as  fast  as  their 
terms  of  service  expired,  and  their  places  filled 
from  the  same  sources  whence  the  company 
officers  were  drawn.  Colonel  Broadcastle  was 
a  diplomat  as  well  as  a  disciplinarian.  By 
some  unknowable  system  of  suggestion  and 
example  it  came,  little  by  little,  to  be  regarded 
in  Kenton  City  as  "  the  thing  "  to  belong  to 
the  Ninth.  Before  the  capital  was  aware  of 
the  transformation,  every  company  roster  read 
103,  the  field  and  staff  had  been  reorgan- 
62 


AS  BETWEEN   FRIENDS 

ized  and  perfected,  and  the  Ninth  Regiment, 
N.  G.  A.,  was  what  it  remained  thereafter : 
a  magnificent  fighting  machine,  ably  drilled, 
perfectly  equipped,  a  credit  to  the  state,  to 
the  credit  of  which  there  stood  so  little  else. 
The  declaration  of  war  with  Spain  brought  it 
suddenly  into  prominence  by  the  astonishing 
readiness  with  which  it  went  into  camp  twenty 
hours  after  the  Adjutant-General  of  Alleghenia 
published  the  President's  call  for  volunteers ; 
and  although  it  never  saw  active  service,  it 
attracted  at  Chickamauga,  and  later  at  Tampa, 
the  admiring  attention  of  the  regular  army, 
and  was  spoken  of  as  the  most  perfect  body 
among  the  volunteer  forces. 

The  citizens  of  Kenton  City  were  not  ac 
customed  to  discovering  things  in  which  they 
could  take  pride.  The  exact  contrary  was 
more  apt  to  be  the  case.  When,  therefore, 
they  discovered  the  rehabilitated  Ninth,  and 
its  redeemer  in  the  person  of  its  command 
ing  officer,  they  had  a  deal  to  say,  and  said 
it  with  unexampled  arrogance  and  satisfac 
tion.  Thenceforward,  Alleghenia  meant  much 
63 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOE 

to  Colonel  Broadcastle,  and  Colonel  Broad- 
castle  considerably  more  than  much  to  Alle- 
ghenia. 

Something  of  all  this  went  through  the 
Lieutenant-Governor's  mind  during  the  pro 
gress  of  the  dinner.  He  sat  at  Mrs.  Rath- 
bawne's  right,  than  which  nothing  in  the 
world  could  have  been  more  cheerless,  unless 
it  was  sitting  at  Mrs.  Rathbawne's  left.  But 
the  good  lady's  habitual  complacency  was 
plainly  in  abeyance,  her  customary  volubility 
replaced  by  a  fidgety  reserve.  The  dinner, 
as  a  social  achievement,  was  a  distinct  failure, 
save  in  so  far  as  Mrs.  Wynyard  and  Colonel 
Broadcastle  were  concerned.  Several  months 
before,  Mrs.  Wynyard  had  frankly  announced 
that  she  had  designs  upon  the  Colonel.  Lat 
terly,  Barclay  had  begun  to  suspect  the  Colo 
nel  of  having  designs  upon  Mrs.  Wynyard. 
Thirty  and  sixty-five  that  looked  forty-five  — 
a  widow  and  a  widower  !  More  wonderful 
things  had  happened. 

"  If  I  were  thirty  years  younger,"  Broad 
castle  was  saying  even  now,  as  he  did  full 
64 


AS  BETWEEN  FEIENDS 

justice  to  the  celery  mayonnaise,  "I  should 
say  we  were  made  for  each  other." 

"  Since  two  single  people  may  be  made  for 
each  other,"  laughed  Mrs.  Wynyard,  "  I  won 
der  if  two  married  people  can't  be  unmade 
for  each  other.  Perhaps  that  is  just  what 
has  happened  to  us  !  " 

"  I  '11  think  that  over,"  replied  the  Colonel 
with  mock  gravity.  "  I  don't  want  to  commit 
myself  on  so  serious  a  hypothesis,  without  due 
reflection." 

They  were  the  only  ones  who  were  thor 
oughly  at  ease.  Barclay  and  Natalie,  unstrung 
by  the  events  of  the  day,  ate  little  and  talked 
listlessly.  Dorothy,  victim  to  an  inward  ex 
citement  which  was  half  happiness  and  half 
disappointment,  chattered  feverishly.  Rath- 
bawne  was  wrapped  in  his  own  thoughts,  and 
his  wife,  innocently  unobservant  of  emotional 
manifestations  in  any  and  every  other,  but 
pathetically  sensitive  to  the  slightest  evidence 
of  mental  perturbation  in  this  stern,  kind  man, 
between  herself  and  whom  existed  a  devotion 
dog-like  in  its  silence  and  intensity,  watched 
65 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

his  clouded  face  with  an  anxiety  which  she 
made  no  effort  to  conceal.  The  dinner  dragged 
hopelessly,  until  she  shook  herself  into  a  be 
wildered  realization  that  it  was  over,  folded 
her  napkin  scrupulously,  dusted  a  few  crumbs 
from  the  black-satin  slope  of  her  obsolete  lap, 
and,  followed  by  her  daughters  and  Mrs. 
Wynyard,  left  the  men  to  their  cordials  and 
cigars. 

The  latter  drew  their  chairs  nearer,  as  the 
door  closed,  made  little  clearings  in  the  wilder 
ness  of  finger-bowls,  silver,  and  discarded  nap 
kins,  for  the  accommodation  of  their  coffee- 
cups  and  cordial  glasses,  and,  lighting  the 
long  Invincibles  which  were  Rathbawne's  sole 
extravagance,  inhaled  that  first  matchless  whiff 
of  smoke  which  makes  a  whole  day  of  anxiety 
and  vexation  seem  to  have  been  worth  the 
while. 

It  is  a  moment  apart  and  sui  generis,  this, 
and  is  rivaled  only  by  that  of  early  morn 
ing  realization  that  one  is  awake  —  and  not 
obliged  to  get  up.  It  is  apt  to  pass  in  silence, 
for  a  newly  lit  cigar  is  like  a  newly  married 
66 


AS  BETWEEN  FRIENDS 

wife :  a  man  is  deliberately  oblivious  to  all. 
else.  The  moment,  too,  is  one  of  readjust 
ment,  of  hasty  mental  survey  of  the  chatter 
that  has  passed,  and  of  preparation  for  the 
essentially  dissimilar  talk  to  come.  With 
men  of  the  mental  calibre  of  the  three  here 
assembled  this  opportunity  is  sacred  to  some 
of  the  gravest  and  most  vital  thoughts  which 
they  exchange.  Peter  Rathbawne,  in  particu 
lar,  whenever  he  reviewed  the  paramount  con 
versations  of  his  life,  seemed  to  find  their 
significance  indissolubly  fused  with  the  fra 
grance  of  Havana  cigars  and  the  taste  of  kiim- 
mel  or  yellow  Chartreuse. 

His  eyes  dwelt  thoughtfully  upon  his  com 
panions  during  the  pause  which  followed. 
First,  on  Broadcastle.  He  could  depend  upon 
him  as  he  could  depend  upon  no  other  man 
on  earth.  They  had  fought  side  by  side  in 
many  a  tight  place  in  the  black  days  of  '62, 
and  in  many  another,  full  as  tight,  since  then, 
on  battlefields  commercial  and  political.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  so  much  as  a  single  word  of 
admiration  or  affection  had  ever  passed  be- 
67 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

tween  them.  It  is  equally  doubtful  whether 
anything  could  have  been  more  entirely  su 
perfluous  than  such  a  voicing  of  self-evident 
sentiments. 

John  Barclay,  too !  Peter  Rathbawne,  with 
what  had  been  natural  shrewdness  at  the  out 
set  now  sharpened  almost  to  clairvoyance  by 
his  years  of  dealing  with  a  multiplicity  of  men 
and  things,  understood  the  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor  absolutely,  and  admired  him  with  all 
the  force  of  his  rugged  nature.  And  Rath- 
bawne  was  not  given  to  admiring  people. 
His  business  experience  had  not  fostered  the 
spirit  of  hero-worship.  He  had  seen  too  much 
for  that.  But  in  the  two  men  before  him  he 
recognized  qualities  so  unusual,  and  in  many 
ways  so  similar,  that  he  was  proud  to  count 
them  friends. 

For  the  moment,  however,  as  he  took  stock 
of  them,  he  was  measuring  them  by  a  new 
standard,  more  rigid,  more  severe  than  he  had 
hitherto  had  reason  to  apply.  It  is  one  thing 
to  trust  a  man  implicitly,  and  another  thing 
entirely  to  try  to  tell  him  so.  For  silence  is 
68 


AS   BETWEEN  FKIENDS 

most  golden  in  the  specification  of  friendship, 
and  when  employed  in  the  particularizing  of 
intimate  emotion  the  silver  of  speech  is  apt  to 
turn  to  veriest  tinsel. 

Yet  the  occasion  was  one  which  demanded 
speech.  Moreover,  and  in  direct  opposition 
to  his  inclinations  and  the  precedents  he  had 
established,  he  was  forced  not  only  to  give 
practical  expression  to  his  feeling  for  Broad- 
castle  and  Barclay,  but,  what  humiliated  as 
well  as  annoyed  him,  to  confess  himself  in 
capable  of  dealing  with  a  question  which  con 
fronted  him.  It  was  the  first  time  within  his 
recollection  when  he  had  mistrusted  his  own 
judgment. 

But  Peter  Rathbawne  was  not  the  man 
to  procrastinate,  and  presently  he  began  to 
speak,  in  a  low  but  curiously  intense  voice, 
from  which  the  others  instinctively  took  their 
cue.  He  was  a  short  man,  inclined  to  stout 
ness,  but  with  the  clear,  sharp  eye  and  the 
underhang  of  jaw  which  tell  of  right  princi 
ple  and  indomitable  perseverance.  '  It  was  a 
question  whether  in  calling  him  the  second 
69 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

most  obstinate  man  in  Alleghenia,  Governor 
Abbott  had  given  him  the  full  measure  of  his 
due. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  with  the  somewhat 
stilted  formality  which  was  part  of  his  man 
ner,  "  I  will  say  to  you  what  I  would  n't  say 
to  others,  —  I  'm  in  a  hole,  and  I  want  your 
advice.  I  '11  be  as  brief  as  possible,  and  I  '11 
come  right  to  the  point.  For  thirty  years 
I've  been  building  up  the  Rathbawne  Mills, 
giving  them  every  hour  of  my  thought,  every 
particle  of  my  strength,  every  atom  of  my 
ability.  I  've  seen  them  grow  from  a  little 
shanty  on  the  outskirts  of  Kenton  City  to  a 
collection  of  buildings  covering  four  solid 
squares,  filled  with  modern  machinery,  and 
employing  four  thousand,  two  hundred  and 
odd  hands.  I  've  been  a  business  man,  I  Ve 
been  a  rigid  man,  but  I  've  been  a  fair  man, 
too.  No  one  can  say  that  I  ever  clipped 
wages,  even  when  I  had  to  run  the  mills  at  a 
loss,  as  I  've  had  to  do  more  than  once.  I 
gave  my  people  an  eight-hour  day  long  before 
the  law  of  Alleghenia  jammed  it  down  the 
70 


AS   BETWEEN  FRIENDS 

throats  of  other  mill  -  owners.  I  swallowed 
the  Union,  though  it  was  a  bitter  mouthful. 
There  has  never  been  a  just  complaint  from 
one  of  my  employees  that  was  n't  attended  to 
in  short  order,  if  it  was  in  my  power  to  do  so. 
There 's  many  an  old  fossil  on  my  pay-rolls 
to-day  who  is  n't  worth  his  salt,  but  he  stays 
there,  and  will  continue  to  stay  there,  because 
he  did  his  best  when  he  could,  and  it 's  not 
his  fault  that  he's  dead  wood  now.  I've 
given  in,  over  and  over  again,  in  one  way  or 
another,  sometimes  against  my  convictions, 
and  oftener  against  my  will.  But  one  thing 
I  've  stuck  to,  and  that 's  my  right  to  dis 
charge  a  hand  when  I  see  fit,  without  dicta 
tion  from  the  Union  or  anybody  else.  In  the 
past,  this  has  been  comparatively  easy  sailing. 
One  man,  now  and  again,  is  n't  a  ripple  on 
the  surface  of  four  thousand  employees.  Be 
sides,  there  was  always  a  good  reason.  The 
others  saw  that,  and  there  was  never  a  finger 
raised.  They  believed  in  me,  through  and 
through,  and  it  has  been  my  pride  to  know 
that  they  did,  and  that  they  had  good  cause 
71 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

to.  But  now  it 's  different.  There  has  been 
a  band  of  young  good-for-nothings  in  Shop 
22,  who  were  full,  chock-a-block,  of  socialism, 
and  equality,  and  workingmen's  rights,  and 
God  knows  what-not !  They  've  talked  enough 
poisonous  gas  to  the  other  hands  to  blow  up  a 
state.  They  distributed  pamphlets,  and  made 
speeches,  and  organized  clubs,  and  fomented 
discord,  till  I  got  sick  and  tired  of  it.  There 
wasn't  one  square  day's  work  in  the  whole 
fifteen  of  them  put  together.  So,  when  I  'd 
stood  them  as  long  as  I  could  —  which  was 
at  ten  o'clock  yesterday  morning  —  I  dis 
charged  them  all  in  a  bunch,  and  if  there  'd 
been  a  steep  place  handy,  I  'd  have  expected 
to  see  them  all  run  violently  down  it  into  the 
sea  —  like  the  other  swine,  in  Scripture.  For 
if  ever  there  was  a  band  of  devils  made  incar 
nate,  it  was  that  same  fifteen  who  were  sow 
ing  anarchy  broadcast  through  the  Rathbawne 
Mills! 

"  Now  —  what  ?   Lo  and  behold,  they  are  all 
henchmen  and  disciples  of  Michael  McGrath, 
whom  we  in  Kenton  City  know  to  our  cost, 
72 


AS  BETWEEN  FEIENDS 

and  regular  and  loyal  members  —  save  the 
mark !  —  of  his  Union.  Well,  gentlemen,  I  've 
got  that  Union  about  my  ears  like  a  nest  of 
hornets,  with  McGrath  at  the  head,  and  unless 
those  fifteen  men  are  reinstated  by  noon  to 
morrow,  my  four  thousand  hands  will  be  out 
on  strike,  and  the  Rathbawne  Mills  will  be 
tied  up  as  tight  as  a  drum  ! " 

"  Fight  'em  !  "  said  Colonel  Broadcastle 
curtly,  as  the  other  paused. 

"  That 's  what  I  meant  to  do  —  but  where 
am  I  going  to  come  out  ?  If  I  thought,  for 
instance,  that  I  was  going  to  have  your  regi 
ment  to  back  me  up,  Broadcastle,  or  even 
the  Kenton  City  police,  why,  well  and  good! 
But  am  I?  No,  sir!  No,  sir!  Not  with 
Elijah  Abbott  in  the  Governor's  chair,  I  'm 
not !  You  know  that  as  well  as  I.  Why, 
Broadcastle,  I  'd  rather  see  McGrath  him 
self  at  the  capitol  than  that  smooth-spoken 
skunk!" 

He  paused  to  relight  his  cigar,  and  then 
continued. 

"  The  Rathbawne  Mills  are  like  the  fruit 
73 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

of  my  own  body  to  me.  I  love  them  !  I 
love  every  stone  and  brick  of  them,  that  I  've 
put  in  place,  as  it  were,  with  my  own  hands. 
I  've  often  thought  that  if  they  should  burn 
down  it  would  come  close  to  killing  me. 
And  yet  I  could  watch  them  go  with  a  lighter 
heart,  God  knows,  than  that  with  which  I 
foresee  the  misery  that  's  coming  to  these 
people  of  mine,  who  are  going  to  starve  at 
the  bidding  of  a  band  of  black-legs,  and  that 
not  even  because  they  think  their  cause  a  just 
one,  but  simply  because  they  can't  help  them 
selves.  It  is  n't  only  that  ruin  's  staring  me 
in  the  face,  though  there 's  that  possibility 
in  the  situation,  too,  but  that  privation,  bit 
ter  misery,  and  despair  are  lying  in  wait  for 
them.  God !  —  what  an  iniquity  ! 

"  But  I  can't  give  in,  Broadcastle — I  can't 
give  in,  John  Barclay !  It  means  the  sacrifice 
of  a  principle  I  Ve  held  out  for,  and  that  I 
know  is  right.  What 's  more,  it  is  n't  as  if  I 
were  yielding  one  point.  It  would  only  be 
the  beginning.  If  I  give  in  now,  I  might  as 
well  turn  over  the  mills  to  McGrath  at  once, 
74 


AS  BETWEEN  FRIENDS 

and  let  him  run  them  according  to  his  own 
blackguardly  will.  You  know  how  such  things 
go.  Give  them  an  inch  "  — 

"  And  they  raise  a  hell ! "  put  in  Colonel 
Broadcastle. 

"  Exactly  !  It 's  commercial  suicide.  And 
yet,  if  I  don't  yield,  I  'm  precipitating  dis 
order,  and  bloodshed,  and  the  untold  suffer 
ing  of  four  thousand  souls.  What  am  I  to 
do?" 

"  Fight  'em ! "  said  Colonel  Broadcastle, 
with  a  sharp  nod  of  his  head. 

Rathbawne  turned  from  him  to  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor,  and  to  the  latter,  knowing 
the  man  he  had  been,  there  was  something 
indescribably  heart-rending  in  the  sudden, 
irresolute  trembling  of  his  half-raised  hands, 
the  slow  shake  of  his  head,  and  the  pathos  of 
his  raised  eyebrows  and  drooping  lips. 

"  John,"  he  said,  "  I  'm  an  old  man,  and 
you  're  a  young  one,  but  I  'm  a  plain  citizen, 
and  you  're  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Alle- 
ghenia.  You  know  how  things  stand.  Now, 
I  've  given  you  my  girl,  and  after  that  it  's 
75 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

not  much  to  put  myself  into  your  hands  as 
well.  I  'm  getting  on.  My  strength  is  n't 
what  it  was.  I  'm  not  as  fit  to  stand  such  a 
•struggle  as  this  is  bound  to  be,  as  I  was 
thirty  years  ago.  I  look  strong,  but,  in  real 
ity,  I  'm  not.  My  doctor  has  warned  me, 
more  than  once.  A  sudden  shock  —  you 
know  what  these  medical  chaps  say  about 
sudden  'shocks  !  I  've  laughed  at  him,  of 
course,  and  yet  —  I  know  there  is  truth  in  it. 
I  've  been  up  against  hard  propositions,  but 
never  one  as  hard  as  this.  I  've  had  big 
responsibilities,  but  never  a  responsibility  that 
I  felt  as  I  feel  this  one.  If  I  hold  out,  I 
know  what  people  and  the  newspapers  will 
say,  —  how  they  '11  blackguard  me,  —  but  I  'm 
not  afraid  of  that.  I  'm  not  even  thinking  of 
it.  No,  and  I  'm  not  thinking  of  what  the 
strain  may  mean  to  me.  Every  man's  turn 
is  sure  to  come  —  why  not  one  way  as  well  as 
another  ?  But  what  I  am  thinking  of  is  the 
result  upon  the  lives  of  these  people  whom 
I  've  made,  as  surely  as  if  I  were  another 
Creator.  And  McGrath  's  another  Beelzebub  ! 
76 


AS  BETWEEN  FRIENDS 

There  's  a  fight  on  between  us  for  the  salva 
tion  of  a  little  world  of  four  thousand  souls ! 
But  I  'm  not  God  !  I  can't  act  with  the  con 
viction  of  omniscience.  I  've  been  the  most  in 
dependent  of  men.  I  've  made  my  own  fortune 
with  my  own  brains.  I  've  done  as  I  saw  fit, 
and  the  results  have  seemed  to  indicate  that 
I  've  been  oftener  right  than  wrong.  But 
now,  I  'm  at  a  loss.  It  's  not  the  men  I  'm 
thinking  of  so  much.  They  ought  to  be  able 
to  make  their  own  way,  as  I  've  made  mine. 
It 's  the  women  and  children  dependent  upon 
them  —  the  women  and  children  who  have  no 
voice  in  the  matter,  and  yet  who  are  bound 
to  suffer  most  by  a  strike.  I  've  got  to  think 
for  them.  I  've  reached  a  crisis  —  a  cross- 
ways  —  and  I  've  got  to  choose  which  course 
to  take  —  and  I  can't !  All  my  experience 
counts  for  nothing.  I  've  never  —  you  prob 
ably  know  it  —  asked  for  advice  before.  But 
now  I  must  have  the  unprejudiced,  the  out 
side  point  of  view.  I  've  always  thought  there 
was  a  clear,  unmistakable  boundary  between 
right  and  wrong,  but  now  there  's  some  right 
77 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

in  the  wrong,  and  a  big  sight  more  of  wrong 
in  the  right !  I  've  heard  Broadcastle's  opin 
ion,  and  I  want  yours.  If  you  agree,  I  '11  go 
by  what  you  say.  As  I  said  before,  John,  in 
this  matter  I  'm  the  individual  —  you  're  the 
state.  I  '11  go  by  what  you  say.  What  shall 
I  do?" 

Peter  Rathbawne's  words  had  wrought  tre 
mendously  upon  the  Lieutenant-Governor.  He 
answered  slowly,  looking  down,  and  with  a 
perceptible  tremor  in  his  voice. 

"  Mr.  Rathbawne,  you  and  the  Colonel 
know  how  high-sounding  my  title  is,  and  how 
little,  in  reality,  it  means.  There  is  no  need 
to  go  into  details.  I  'm  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  Alleghenia,  yes  !  —  and  as  helpless  in  the 
cause  of  right  as  a  new-born  baby !  If  I  could 
by  any  means,  in  any  manner,  support  the  ad 
vice  I  gave  you,  I  would  give  it  willingly." 

"  John  !  "  said  Peter  Rathbawne,  "  I  don't 
mean  that.  I  've  put  the  case  wrongly.  Give 
me  your  counsel,  not  as  Lieutenant-Governor, 
but  as  my  friend,  and  the  man  who  loves  my 
daughter ! " 

78 


AS  BETWEEN  FEIENDS 

The  Lieutenant-Governor  raised  his  eyes 
from  the  finger-tips  with  which,  as  the  other 
was  speaking,  he  had  been  plucking  at  the 
cloth. 

"Fight  them,  Mr.  Rathbawne,"  he  said, 
te  and  may  God  help  you  —  because  I  can't ! " 


79 


A   BRAND    FROM   THE   BURNING 

MORE  heartsick  than  he  cared  to  confess, 
even  to  himself,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  left 
the  Rathbawnes'  earlier  than  his  wont,  de 
spite  the  fact  that  his  host  and  Colonel 
Broadcastle  were  still  engaged  in  discussing 
the  impending  situation,  and  that  Natalie, 
with  a  batch  of  new  music,  was  waiting  for 
him  at  the  piano.  He  pleaded  an  unusually 
busy  day  and  his  consequent  fatigue  as  an 
excuse,  and  so,  at  half  after  nine,  found  him 
self  about  to  light  a  second  cigar,  on  the 
steps  of  the  Rathbawne  residence,  and  shiver 
ing  a  little  in  the  night  air,  which  stung  the 
inside  of  his  nostrils  and  set  his  eyes  water 
ing.  Raw  as  the  day  had  been,  it  had  turned 
colder  now,  but  the  night  was  superbly  clear. 
The  sky  seemed  to  have  drawn  nearer  to  the 
earth,  and  the  stars  twinkled  so  sharply  and 
80 


A  BEAND  FROM   THE   BURNING 

clearly  against  its  deep  blue-black  that  they 
resembled  in  form  their  conventionally  five- 
pointed  counterfeits  of  silver  paper.  A  brisk 
wind  whirled  a  few  dried  leaves  in  whispering 
eddies  across  the  smooth  asphaltum  of  the 
driveway,  but  beyond  this  and  the  peevish 
sputtering  of  the  arc-light  on  the  opposite 
corner  there  was  no  sound.  It  was  the  kind 
of  night  which,  with  its  crystal  clearness  and 
its  steely  intensity,  stirs  the  normal  pulse  to 
keen  exhilaration :  yet  never  had  John  Bar 
clay  felt  more  hopelessly  dispirited,  more  ut 
terly  at  a  loss  to  see  the  way  before  him. 
That  anxiety,  distress,  possibly  actual  disaster 
should  be  impending  over  this  house  where 
lay  his  heart,  his  happiness,  and  his  hope,  was 
sufficiently  disturbing  in  itself.  That  he 
should  not  be  able,  despite  his  position,  to 
raise  a  hand  to  avert  the  calamity  was  worse. 
But  that  the  battle  was  to  be  a  battle  for 
the  right,  and  yet,  as  it  seemed,  foredoomed 
from  the  start  to  end  in  disaster,  since  no 
aid  could  be  expected  from  the  strong  arm  of 
the  law  to  which  the  partisans  of  principle 
81 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

turn  naturally  for  support :  this  was  worst  of 
all.  For  out  of  dangerous  surroundings  he 
felt  himself  able  to  snatch  away  the  littlest 
and  most  lovely  woman  in  the  world.  She, 
at  least,  should  not  suffer.  And  out  of  this 
nightmare  of  powerless  prominence,  of  impo 
tent  position,  he  himself  could  retire  into  pri 
vate  life,  and  be  no  less  a  man  than  he  had 
been  before.  But  from  the  reproach  of  cor 
ruption  which  had  fallen  upon  her,  and  the 
impending  slur  of  anarchy,  who  was  to  rescue 
Alleghenia?  The  Lieutenant  -  Governor  set 
his  lips  and  drove  his  nails  into  his  palms,  as 
he  stood  in  the  shadow  of  the  Rathbawnes* 
doorway,  looking  up  at  the  sky  of  the  Febru 
ary  night.  He  was  not  a  religious  man  —  as 
the  term  goes  —  but  in  that  moment  he  said  a 
better  prayer  for  the  welfare  of  his  state  than 
had  ever  lain  upon  the  lips  of  any  priest  in 
Kenton  City ! 

He  was  about  to  strike  his  match  when  an 
instinct  rather  than  an  actual  perception  of 
movement  arrested  his  hand.     Bradbury  Ave 
nue,  upon  which  stood  the  Rathbawne  house, 
82 


was  situated  in  one  of  the  quieter  residence 
districts  which  prided  itself  on  the  turfed 
spaces  between  its  dwellings,  pretentious 
enough  for  the  most  part,  and  the  double 
rows  of  trees  which  lined  its  thoroughfares. 
It  was  one  of  these  trees  which,  at  the  mo 
ment,  attracted  Barclay's  attention.  It  lay 
in  a  direct  line  between  himself  and  the  arc- 
light  on  the  corner,  and  its  trunk,  in  some 
miraculous  manner,  had  abruptly  developed 
an  elbow,  and  then  an  arm.  The  Lieutenant- 
Go  vernor  was  still  staring  at  this  phenome 
non  when  it  was  as  abruptly  explained  by  the 
sudden  emergence  from  shadow  of  a  man, 
who  had  apparently  been  standing  on  the 
side  of  the  tree  nearest  to  the  house.  He 
was  crossing  the  avenue  obliquely  when  some 
thing  about  his  bearing  caused  the  Lieuten- 
ant-Governor  to  lean  forward  and  follow  him 
intently  with  his  eyes.  It  was  all  there,  as 
Natalie  had  said  —  the  lifted  shoulders,  the 
bent  head,  the  unmistakable,  pathetic  air  of 
the  beggar.  Then,  as  he  neared  the  light, 
he  gave  a  short  upward  strain  to  his  neck  and 
83 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

chin,  the  impatient  movement  of  a  man  whose 
collar  annoys  him.  The  trick  was  too  familiar 
to  have  been  forgotten.  The  next  moment 
Barclay's  heels  were  pounding  on  the  asphal- 
tum  behind  him,  and  then  Barclay's  hand  fell 
upon  his  shoulder  and  whirled  him  round. 

In  the  oddly  intense  radiance  of  the  arc- 
light  above,  which  cut  sharply  across  the  sur 
face  of  forehead,  cheek,  and  chin,  and  left 
heavy  shadows  like  those  in  a  roughly  blocked- 
out  carving,  under  brow,  nose,  and  lower  lip, 
the  two  men  faced  each  other  briefly,  in  si 
lence.  Then  the  Lieutenant- Governor  voiced 
the  other's  name,  hardly  above  a  whisper. 

"  Spencer  Cavendish  !  " 

And  the  other,  echoing  the  tone,  if  not  the 
words,  replied  :  — 

"  Bar-clay ! " 

A  square  away,  the  lights  of  a  hansom 
winked  into  the  avenue,  and  the  hoof-beats 
of  the  horse  clonked  on  the  pavement,  unac 
companied  by  any  sound  from  the  smoothly 
trundling,  rubber  -  tired  wheels.  Barclay 
stepped  to  the  kerb,  and  hailed  the  driver 
84 


A  BRAND  FROM   THE   BURNING 

with  his  stick.  The  cab  drew  in,  stopped, 
and  threw  the  divisions  of  its  apron  wide, 
like  two  black  hands  extended  in  cordial  wel 
come. 

The  Lieutenant  -  Governor  turned  to  his 
companion. 

"  Get  in,"  he  said.  "  I  want  to  have  a 
talk  with  you." 

The  drive  of  a  mile  and  more  from  Brad 
bury  Avenue  to  Barclay's  quarters  in  the  new 
bachelor  apartment  -  house  "  Rockingham  " 
was  accomplished  without  the  exchange  of  a 
word.  Once,  he  felt  his  companion  shiver, 
and  dragging  a  rug  from  under  them,  he 
spread  it  across  their  knees.  That  was  the 
only  movement  on  the  part  of  either.  They 
sat,  side  by  side,  looking  straight  before  them 
over  the  horse's  bobbing  crupper,  until  the 
hansom  pulled  up  sharply  before  the  broad 
and  brilliantly  illuminated  entrance  of  the 
"  Rockingham."  As  they  passed  in,  Caven 
dish  had  a  passing  impression  of  tiled  floors, 
columns  of  green  marble,  and  attendants  in 
tightly  fitting  green  uniforms  with  brass  but- 
85 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

tons.  Then  an  elevator  whirled  them  up  to 
the  eighth  floor,  deposited  them  in  a  square 
hallway,  and  vanished  again,  with  the  little 
page  in  charge  wrinkling  his  nose  and  biting 
the  thumb  of  his  cotton  glove. 

"Wot's  the  Loot'nt-Guvnor  up  to  now, 
Sawed-Off  ?  "  inquired  the  doorkeeper  gen 
ially,  as  the  elevator  returned  to  the  ground 
floor. 

"  Ide'no  ! "  replied  the  little  page  with 
equal  affability.  "  Goin'  in  fer  pol'tics,  I 
guest.  Jeest !  Wot  a  slob  it  wuz  —  wot  ?  " 

The  Lieutenant  -  Governor  unlocked  the 
door  of  his  apartment,  touched  an  electric 
button  which  flooded  the  little  hall  and  the 
drawing-room  beyond  with  light,  and,  enter 
ing  the  latter,  went  directly  to  a  closet  in  the 
wall.  Unlocking  this,  he  took  out  a  jar  of 
biscuits  and  a  decanter,  and  setting  them  upon 
the  table,  turned  once  more  to  his  compan 
ion. 

"  Put  away  a  couple  of  those  biscuits  and 
a  glass  of  sherry,"  he  said,  "  and  then  we  '11 
talk." 

86 


A  BRAND   FROM   THE  BURNING 

"  I  'm  past  biscuits,"  said  the  other,  almost 
sullenly. 

"  I  '11  see  to  that,"  replied  Barclay.  "  They 
are  only  by  way  of  a  starter." 

He  passed  into  the  hall  as  he  spoke,  and 
presently  Cavendish  heard  the  click  of  a  tel 
ephone  receiver  slipping  from  its  crotch,  and 
Barclay's  voice  speaking,  to  some  one  below, 
of  a  steak,  vegetables,  salad,  and  coffee.  He 
stepped  to  the  table,  devoured  two  or  three 
of  the  biscuits  ravenously,  poured  himself  a 
glass  of  sherry,  sipped,  and  then  swallowed 
it,  and  flung  himself  down  upon  a  wide 
divan. 

"Have  you  a  cigarette?"  he  asked,  as 
Barclay  reentered.  "I  have  n't  smoked  in 
three  days.  That 's  worse  than  mere  hunger, 
you  know." 

"  I  believe  you ! " 

Barclay  pushed  a  silver  box  across  the 
table,  and  seating  himself  opposite,  touched 
a  match  to  the  cigar  which  he  had  been  about 
to  light  at  the  Rathbawnes'  door,  and  which 
he  still  held  between  his  lips. 
87 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  Help  yourself,"  he  added.  "  Your  supper 
will  be  up  presently.  Meanwhile,  shall  I  fire 
away,  or  will  you  ?  " 

Cavendish  let  the  first  smoke  from  his  cig 
arette  curl  slowly  up  his  cheek  before  reply 
ing.  In  the  full  light  now  first  resting  upon 
it,  his  face  showed  as  that  of  a  man  approxi 
mately  Barclay's  age,  but  pinched  by  want, 
and  deeply  lined  by  dissipation.  His  under 
lids  were  puffy  and  discolored,  and  a  dozen 
heavy  creases  ran,  fan-like,  from  the  corners 
of  his  eyes.  Hair  already  turning  white  and 
an  unkempt  mustache  and  beard  completed 
the  picture.  His  clothes  were  faded  and 
frayed,  no  linen  was  visible,  and  his  boots 
were  cracked  and  soggy.  There  was  nothing 
about  him  to  suggest  the  former  estate  of 
gentleman  save  his  hands,  which,  while  thin 
and  tremulous,  were  clean  and  well-kept,  in  sin 
gular  contrast  to  the  slovenliness  of  his  attire. 

"  Age  before  respectability,"  he  said  in  re 
ply  to  Barclay's  question,  with  a  shrug.    "  I  '11 
go  first.     It  will  save  your  asking  questions. 
We  parted  in  anger,  Barclay." 
88 


A  BRAND  FEOM   THE  BURNING 

"  Let  that  pass,"  put  in  the  Lieutenant- 
Go  vernor,  briefly.  "  Two  years  wipe  out  all 
scores  as  petty  as  was  the  cause  of  our  quar 
rel." 

"Well,  then,"  continued  Cavendish  more 
easily,  "  when  I  left  Kenton  City,  it  was  with 
the  best  intention  in  the  world  of  making  a 
fresh  start  in  some  place  where  my  story 
was  n't  known.  I  went  to  New  York.  I  had 
a  little  money,  but  only  a  very  little,  and  not 
the  most  remote  idea  of  how  difficult  it  is  for 
a  man  to  make  his  way  in  a  place  where  he  is 
unknown,  particularly  if  he  has  no  credentials 
and  is  too  proud  to  ask  for  any  from  his 
old  associates.  Moreover,  I  'd  been  drinking 
hard  for  six  months  and  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  clipping  it  short  all  at  once.  I  had 
an  idea  of  tapering  off,  and  perhaps,  if  I  had 
found  a  job,  I  might  have  done  so.  As  it 
was  I  climbed  up  one  step  and  fell  down  two, 
and  that  went  on  indefinitely.  It  was  n't  as 
if  I  'd  had  a  distinct  aim  or  anything  in  my 
life  which  made  it  seem  worth  living.  I 
did  ii't  half  care.  I  'd  set  my  heart  on  some- 
89 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

thing  which  I  could  n't  get,  and —  well,  never 
mind  that.  It  is  all  as  long  ago  as  the  Flood ! 
I  got  work  now  and  again,  tried  reporting, 
and  teaching,  and  copying.  But  each  time 
it  was  a  grade  lower,  and  I  stuck  to  nothing 
but  the  whiskey  —  except  when  I  had  a  little 
more  money  than  usual,  and  then  it  was  ab 
sinthe." 

He  touched  his  eyes,  and  then  raised  his 
hand  to  the  level  of  his  chin,  with  the  fingers 
held  wide  apart  and  rigid,  and  watched  it 
tremble  for  an  instant  in  silence. 

"  I  have  n't  seen  a  mirror  in  weeks,"  he 
went  on,  "  but  I  know  the  signs  are  all  there. 
That 's  the  story.  I  could  string  it  out  for 
an  hour,  but  it  would  all  be  in  the  same  key. 
I  've  simply  been  going  down,  down,  down. 
I  'm  what  the  old  judge  called  me  — do  you 
remember  it  came  out  in  the  ( Record  ? '  —  I  'm 
a  common  drunk,  Barclay.  And  I  don't  care ! 
I  've  been  on  the  point  of  putting  an  end  to 
it  many  a  time  —  but  I  always  held  out  for 
another  drink !  Now,  even  my  pride  's  gone. 
It  stuck  to  me  longer  than  anything  else,  but 
90 


A  BRAND  FROM  THE  BURNING 

it 's  taken  itself  off  at  last.  I  've  been  feeling 
lately  that  I  'm  pretty  near  the  end,  and  I 
wanted  to  see  Kenton  City  again  before  it 
came.  That's  the  reason  I  walked  all  the 
way  from  Pittsburg,  and  I  've  been  begging 
on  the  streets  since  I  got  in.  I  thought  no 
body  would  recognize  me." 

"  But  /  did,"  said  Barclay. 

"Yes,  and  — and"  — 

"  Yes,  and  she  did !  She  saw  you  this 
morning,  but  before  she  took  in  fully  that  it 
was  you,  you  were  gone  in  the  crowd.  She 
was  half  heart-broken  over  it,  and  made  me 
promise  to  look  you  up.  I  was  going  to  do 
so,  when  I  tumbled  against  you  by  chance  to 
night.  You  were  watching  the  house  ?  " 

"  Yes,  for  the  last  time.  I  saw  she  had 
recognized  me  and  that  Kenton  City  was  no 
place  for  me.  So  I  was  off  again  to-night. 
Is  she  "— 

"  She  is  well,  and,  I  am  glad  to  say,  happy. 
We  are  to  be  married  in  the  autumn." 

A  smile  hovered  for  an  instant  on  Caven 
dish's  lips. 

91 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  God  bless  her  !  "  he  said  slowly.  "  I  'm 
glad  of  it.  But  don't  let's  talk  of  that. 
She  's  as  far  above  me  as  the  stars  ! " 

"  And  as  far  above  me,  too,  for  that  mat 
ter !"  answered  Barclay.  "  Here 's  your  sup 
per.  While  you  're  eating,  I  '11  take  my  turn 
at  the  talk." 

A  bell-boy  arranged  the  tray  on  the  table, 
removed  the  covers,  and  in  a  moment  the  two 
men  were  again  alone.  With  a  deep  sigh  of 
satisfaction  Cavendish  drew  a  chair  to  the 
table  and  set  to  work  on  the  steaming  dishes 
before  him. 

"  Jupiter ! "  he  said,  with  the  first  mouth 
ful  poised  on  his  fork,  "  you  don't  know  what 
this  means,  Barclay,  and  you  can  thank  God 
you  don't.  I  won't  attempt  to  thank  you. 
Go  on,  and  tell  me  about  yourself." 

"  I  've  no  intention  of  doing  that  just  at 
present,"  replied  the  Lieutenant  -  Governor, 
settling  himself  more  comfortably  in  his  chair. 
"  I  want  to  talk  about  you.  Don't  be  afraid. 
I  'm  not  going  to  preach  !  But  I  am  going 
to  say  that  while  I  understand  a  good  deal  of 
92 


A  BKAND  FKOM  THE   BURNING 

what  you  've  said,  the  last  part  is  pure  rot ! 
You  're  a  bit  of  a  wreck,  of  course,  but  it 
is  n't  your  pride  or  your  self-respect  or  what 
ever  you  choose  to  call  it,  that 's  gone.  It 's 
only  your  nerve.  Now  you  've  had  your  ex 
perience,  and  you  're  back  where  you  belong, 
and  you  've  friends  who  like  you,  and  who 
can  help  you,  and  who  will.  I  'm  in  a  posi 
tion  to  do  so  myself,  and  I  don't  expect  you 
to  make  any  bones  about  accepting  my  assist 
ance,  and  whatever  money  you  need  for  the 
moment.  It  will  be  a  loan,  of  course,  to  be 
repaid  when  you  're  on  your  feet  again.  We  '11 
have  you  there  in  no  time.  When  you've 
made  way  with  the  grub,  you  can  bunk  down 
on  that  divan  for  the  night,  and  in  the  morn 
ing  I  '11  tog  you  out  in  one  of  my  outfits,  and 
you  can  set  about  getting  back  on  terra  firma. 
You  '11  have  to  shake  the  drink,  that  goes 
without  saying." 

Cavendish  straightened  himself  suddenly, 
laid  down  his  knife  and  fork,  and  laughed 
shortly. 

"  It  sounds  well,"  he  said  bitterly,  "  but 
93 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVEKNOR 

you  don't  understand,  Barclay.  It 's  too  late ! 
I  don't  care,  and  if  I  did,  I  could  n't  shake  the 
drink  to  save  my  immortal  soul.  I  'm  steady 
enough  for  the  time  being,  because  I  'm  hun 
gry  and  because  I  'm  being  fed.  But  I  've 
tried  the  other  game  too  often.  I  know  what 
it  means.  I  would  n't  promise  you  to  quit, 
because  I  don't  want  to  lie  to  you,  and  that 's 
all  it  would  be.  When  the  craving  comes 
back,  I  '11  go  down  before  it  like  a  row  of 
tenpins.  No,  Barclay,  it  won't  do." 

"  Nonsense,  man  !  Do  you  want  to  tell 
me  you  're  as  weak  as  that  ?  " 

"  Every  bit !  "  said  Cavendish,  attacking  the 
steak  again. 

"  Well,  I  don't  believe  it,  that 's  all  In 
the  morning  you  '11  be  a  different  man.  I  '11 
give  you  a  bromide  when  you  're  ready  for 
bed.  You  're  shaky,  as  it  is,  but  that 's  all  a 
matter  of  nerves.  Now  we  '11  drop  the  sub 
ject,  and  talk  of  other  things." 

It  was  midnight  when  they  separated. 
Barclay  brought  out  sheets  and  blankets  for 
the  divan,  produced  pajamas  for  his  guest, 
94 


A  BRAND  FROM  THE  BURNING 

put  the  bath  at  his  disposal,  and  mixed  a 
strong  dose  of  bromide  for  him  to  take  upon 
retiring. 

Half  an  hour  later,  when  he  reentered  the 
drawing-room  to  see  whether  Cavendish  was 
in  need  of  anything  further,  he  found  him 
standing  by  the  table  in  his  pajamas,  trem 
bling,  wide-eyed,  and  very  pale. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  he  asked.   "  Are  you  ill  ?  " 

"No,"  answered  Cavendish,  striving  in 
vain  to  control  the  trembling  of  his  lips, 
"  only  damnably  nervous.  Could  you  — 
could  you  give  me  a  drop  of  brandy,  Bar 
clay?" 

"  Certainly  not !  "  said  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor.  "  Pull  yourself  together,  man  ! 
There  's  your  bromide.  Take  that.  It 's 
better  than  a  thousand  brandies." 

Cavendish  turned,  lifted  the  glass,  spilling 
a  little  as  he  did  so,  and  swallowed  the  seda 
tive  at  a  gulp.  Then  he  stretched  himself 
upon  the  divan  and  drew  the  covers  close  up 
about  his  chin.  Presently,  from  the  bedroom, 
Barclay  heard  him  breathing  deeply  and  regu- 
95 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

larly,  and   turning  on   his  side,  fell  into  a 
heavy,  dreamless  sleep. 

He  awoke  with  a  start,  as  the  dawn  was 
showing  gray  through  the  chinks  of  his  win 
dow  curtains,  with  a  vague,  uneasy  sense  of 
something  wrong,  and  lay  listening,  every 
nerve  strained  taut.  From  the  adjoining 
room  came  the  sound  of  Cavendish's  breath 
ing,  but  now  it  was  more  raucous,  more  like 
groan  following  groan.  The  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor  strove  in  vain  to  put  off  the  forebod 
ing  which  lay  heavy  upon  him,  until,  finally, 
unable  to  resist  the  impulse,  he  rose,  slid  his 
feet  into  his  slippers,  and  going  noiselessly 
into  the  drawing-room,  stepped  to  the  win 
dows  and  put  the  curtains  softly  aside.  What 
first  met  his  eye  as  he  turned  was  the  door 
of  his  little  wine-closet  in  the  wall.  It  was 
standing  wide  open,  and  about  the  lock  the 
wood  was  hacked  and  hewed  away  in  great 
splinters.  On  a  chair  near  by  lay  a  rough 
knife  with  the  blade  open  and  a  sliver  of 
wood  yet  sticking  to  the  point.  Then  he 
looked  toward  the  divan.  Cavendish  was  ly- 
96 


A  BRAND  FROM  THE  BURNING 

ing  face  down  upon  it,  outside  the  blankets, 
with  his  head  lolling  sharply  over  the  edge. 
His  left  arm  was  extended  full  length  toward 
the  ground,  where  his  fingers  just  touched  a 
bottle  of  French  absinthe,  overturned  upon  its 
side,  and  uncorked,  with  the  thick,  gummy 
liquid  spread  from  its  mouth  in  a  circular  pool 
on  the  waxed  floor. 


97 


VI 

McGBATH   LAUGHS 

THE  clock  on  the  huge  central  tower  of  the 
Capitol  marked  nine,  as  the  Lieutenant-Gover 
nor  passed  rapidly  through  the  lofty  entrance 
hall  toward  the  corridor  leading  to  his  office 
and  that  of  Governor  Abbott.  Already  his 
promptness  was  proverbial,  and  there  were 
those  in  the  great,  grim  building  who  looked 
forward  to  the  moment  of  his  arrival,  each 
morning,  with  a  kind  of  eagerness.  These 
were  the  simpler  folk  of  the  official  world  with 
which  circumstance  housed  him  for  eight 
hours  daily,  —  bootblacks,  elevator-boys,  por 
ters,  doormen.  For  to  the  big,  clean,  whole 
some  personality  which  appeals  irresistibly  to 
these  humbler  people,  Barclay  added  an  aston 
ishing  memory  for  faces,  and  for  the  names 
and  circumstances  connected  with  them.  It 
was  a  gift  which  counted  as  an  unspeakably 
98 


McGRATH  LAUGHS 

important  factor  in  the  establishment  and 
maintenance  of  unusually  cordial  relations 
•with  all  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 
No  one  brought  within  the  radius  of  his  per 
sonal  magnetism  long  resisted  it.  It  was  only 
those  who  judged  him  from  a  distance,  as  did 
the  press  and  the  rank  and  file  of  his  party,  or 
those  who  deliberately  misinterpreted  him,  as 
did  his  political  enemies,  who  permitted  them 
selves  anything  short  of  enthusiasm  for  John 
Barclay.  And  this  faculty  for  attracting  ad 
miration  and  commanding  respect,  this  infal 
lible  kindness  and  this  inherent  dignity,  were 
never  made  manifest  to  so  great  advantage  as 
in  his  attitude  toward  his  inferiors.  These 
adored  him.  He  accumulated,  bit  by  bit,  a 
remarkable  store  of  intimate  information  re 
lating  to  them,  and  employed  it  in  his  inter 
course  with  them,  with  a  tact  and  a  frank 
sincerity  of  interest  which  never  failed  of 
their  effect.  The  response  thus  elicited  was 
strongest  of  the  minor  pleasures  in  his  life. 
He  was  aware  —  none  better  —  of  the  shrewd 
ness  native  to  those  who  have  no  claim  upon 
99 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

one's  recognition,  their  appreciation  of  notice 
that  is  unfeignedly  interested,  their  sensitive 
ness  to  open  indifference,  their  resentment  of 
the  simulated  consideration  which  is  mere  im 
pertinence  ;  and  he  was  conscious  of  a  little 
inward  thrill  of  satisfaction  at  the  difference 
of  attitude  in  the  employees  at  the  Capitol  as 
toward  Governor  Abbott  and  himself.  Where 
the  former's  suavity  elicited  only  formal  re 
spect,  manifestly  obligatory,  his  own  whole- 
heartedness  lined  his  way  with  smiles  and 
kindly  greetings.  His  official  existence,  beset 
with  annoyance,  mortification,  and  disappoint 
ment,  was,  as  he  often  reflected,  made  toler 
able  only  by  this  friendliness  which  he,  almost 
unconsciously,  inspired.  Dogs,  children,  and 
his  subordinates  —  the  three  most  intuitively 
critical  classes  of  beings  —  were  all  his  friends. 
The  pathway  to  and  from  the  daily  routine, 
which  he  was  coming  to  regard  as  moral 
martyrdom,  was  a  pathway  illumined  with 
sunlight  and  strewn  with  flowers  ! 

As  the  Lieutenant-Governor  passed  through 
his  ante-room,  with  a  wink  at  the  boy,  a  nod 
100 


to  the  stenographer,  and  a  word  of  greeting 
to  his  private  secretary,  and  entered  his  office, 
he  was  surprised  to  find  the  communicating 
door  open,  and  to  hear  the  sound  of  a  vaguely 
familiar  voice  in  the  Governor's  room  beyond. 
In  an  effort  to  place  the  speaker,  he  hesitated 
briefly  before  advancing  to  a  point  which 
would  bring  him  within  range  of  the  Gover 
nor's  eye.  Almost  immediately,  the  memory 
of  the  convention  rushed  over  him,  and  he 
recognized  the  voice  as  that  of  Michael  Mc- 
Grath. 

"  And  it  won't  be  a  strike  like  other 
strikes,"  he  was  saying,  "  not  so  long  as  I  'm 
running  it,  that  is.  It 's  going  to  mean  busi 
ness  from  the  word  go !  There 's  been  too 
much  shilly-shallying  in  the  strikes  I  've  known 
anything  about,  too  much  talk,  and  too  much 
wasting  of  Union  funds.  You  know  what  I 
mean.  It  is  n't  enough  to  tie  up  a  mill,  and 
then  hang  around  on  street-corners  for  two 
months,  waiting  for  the  other  side  to  give  in. 
The  only  place  to  hit  a  man  like  Rathbawne 
is  in  his  pocket,  and  by  that  I  don't  mean 
101 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

simply  cutting  off  his  income,  but  chopping 
into  his  capital  as  well.  He  's  got  to  under 
stand"— 

The  Lieutenant-Governor  walked  over  to 
his  desk,  laid  his  hat  and  stick  on  a  chair,  and, 
before  removing  his  overcoat,  began  turning 
over  the  pile  of  letters  which  awaited  his  atten 
tion.  As  he  did  so,  Governor  Abbott's  voice 
broke  in  suavely  upon  the  other's. 

"I  deprecate  any  resort  to  violence,"  he 
said.  "  You  must  proceed  with  discretion  if 
you  expect  the  state  to  maintain  an  attitude 
of  neutrality.  Otherwise,  the  police  or  the 
militia  " — 

"  Oh,  to  hell  with  the  police  and  the 
militia ! "  broke  in  McGrath  impatiently. 
"  What 's  the  use  "— 

"  There  is  the  Lieutenant-Governor  now," 
interrupted  the  other.  "  Perhaps  he  has  some 
news  for  us.  Mr.  Barclay,  will  you  kindly 
step  in  here  for  a  moment  ?  " 

McGrath  was  standing  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  Governor's  table  as  Barclay  entered  the 
room.  He  acknowledged  the  latter's  curt  nod 
102 


McGRATH  LAUGHS 

with  an  ironical  bow,  slipped  his  hands  into 
the  pockets  of  his  checked  trousers,  and  stood 
waiting,  with  his  square  head  thrust  forward, 
for  what  was  to  follow. 

"  Mr.  McGrath  has  called,"  continued  the 
Governor,  "to  explain  the  attitude  of  the 
Union  in  the  impending  strike  at  the  Rath- 
bawne  Mills.  I've  been  telling  him  of  our 
conversation  of  yesterday  afternoon,  and  that, 
as  you  were  to  see  Mr.  Rathbawne  last  night, 
you  would  probably  have  something  to  tell  us 
in  regard  to  his  position.  Were  you  able  to 
persuade  him  to  a  more  reasonable  view  of  the 
situation  ?  " 

"  I  have  nothing  to  add,  sir,  to  what  I  said 
yesterday,"  replied  Barclay.  "  I  told  you  then 
that  I  had  no  intention  of  endeavoring  to  in 
fluence  Mr.  Rathbawne's  judgment." 

"  He  spoke  to  you  about  it  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  And  asked  your  advice  ?  " 

"He  did." 

"  And  you  replied?  " 

The  Lieutenant-Governor  flushed. 
103 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  I  beg  to  suggest,  sir,"  he  answered,  "  that 
this  is  hardly  the  time  for  me  to  commit  my 
self  as  to  that.  I  conceive  it  to  be  a  matter 
of  official  privacy.  Mr.  McGrath  " — 

"  You  have  my  authority  to  speak,  Mr.  Bar 
clay,"  said  the  Governor.  "  Indeed,  I  desire 
it.  Since  one  side  knows  your  views,  there  is 
no  reason  why  the  other  should  not  be  in 
formed  as  well.  Mr.  McGrath  is  the  president 
of  the  Union.  It  is  best  that  he  should  know 
the  attitude  of  the  state  authorities  in  this 
controversy." 

"  I  am  not  in  a  position  to  question  your 
wishes,  sir.  You  should  know  best." 

"  One  cannot  pretend  to  be  infallible,  Mr. 
Barclay,"  answered  the  Governor,  rubbing 
his  hands.  "  One  can  only  do  what  seems  to 
be  right  and  proper  under  the  circumstances. 
By  our  conversation  of  yesterday,  I  in  a  mea 
sure  put  the  negotiations  with  Mr.  Rathbawne 
into  your  hands." 

"  It  is  a  task  I  did  not  seek,  sir.  Pardon 
me  if  I  say  that  it  is  also  one  which  I  should 


104 


McGRATH  LAUGHS 

hardly  have  accepted,  had  I  been  aware  that 
in  speaking  as  you  did  you  were  actually  ask 
ing  me  to  assume  it.  Mr.  Rathbawne  is  my 
friend,  and,  moreover,  my  personal  convic 
tions  "  — 

The  Governor  held  up  his  hand. 

"There  can  be  no  question  of  friendship 
or  of  personal  conviction,  Mr.  Barclay,  in 
the  case  of  a  duty  imposed  upon  a  state  offi 
cial.  I  realize  that  what  you  —  or  I,  for  that 
matter  —  must  do  in  the  performance  of  our 
obligations,  is  oftentimes  disagreeable,  often 
times  at  variance  with  our  wishes.  But  that 
is  unavoidable." 

Barclay  moved  uneasily.  The  intrusion  of 
this  pedantry,  so  conspicuously  insincere,  with 
its  implied  rebuke,  chafed  him  unspeakably, 
in  view  of  the  presence  of  McGrath.  The 
Governor  had  adopted  the  tone,  half  authori 
tative,  half  reproachful,  of  a  teacher  reproving 
a  refractory  child. 

"  My  time,  as  you  must  know,  is  inadequate 
to  the  demands  made  upon  it.  I  am  forced, 


105 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

on  occasions,  to  turn  more  or  less  important 
matters  over  to  others.  To  whom  more  natu 
rally  than  to  you,  Mr.  Barclay  ?  " 

"  May  I  suggest,  sir,  that  there  can  be 
no  profit  in  prolonging  this  discussion?  I 
appreciate  the  position  perfectly,  and  I  am 
quite  prepared  to  state  what  I  know  of  Mr. 
Rathbawne's  attitude  toward  the  demands  of 
the  Union." 

"  Ah,"  said  the  Governor,  "  that  is  as  it 
should  be,  and  as  satisfactory  as  possible. 
Let  me  remind  you,  Mr.  Barclay,  that  it  was 
not  I,  but  yourself,  who  introduced  this  di 
gression." 

He  turned  to  the  president  of  the  Union. 

"  You  will  understand  from  what  I  have 
said,  Mr.  McGrath,"  he  added,  "  both  to  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  and  to  you,  that  in  the 
matter  of  the  proposed  strike,  he  is,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  acting  in  my  stead.  He 
was  in  a  position  to  approach  Mr.  Rathbawne, 
and  I  was  not.  Now,  Mr.  Barclay,  if  you 
please  "  — 

The  Lieutenant-Governor  straightened  him- 
106 


McGEATH  LAUGHS 

self  instinctively,  as,  for  the  first  time,  he 
addressed  himself  to  the  agitator. 

"  Mr.  McGrath,"  he  said,  "  my  confidence 
in  Mr.  Rathbawne's  fairness  and  integrity 
would  have  led  me  to  approve  any  course 
which  he  might  have  seen  fit  to  take.  As 
you  have  already  heard  me  say,  I  had  abso 
lutely  no  intention  of  endeavoring  to  influence 
his  judgment.  Greatly  to  my  surprise,  Mr. 
Rathbawne  himself  consulted  me  in  the  mat 
ter,  without  any  suggestion  on  my  part,  and 
asked  for  my  advice." 

"  That 's  fortunate,"  put  in  McGrath,  "very 
fortunate.  You  've  been  able  to  sidetrack  a 
lot  of  trouble." 

Barclay's  eyes  hardened  at  the  hypocrisy  of 
the  sneer. 

"  I  have  pleasure  in  informing  you,"  he 
continued,  "  that,  in  reply,  I  advised  him  to 
fight  the  Union  in  the  present  dispute  to  the 
utmost  of  his  means  and  ability.  I  should 
have  counseled  him  further  to  hold  out  until 
he  had  spent  his  last  cent  and  shed  his  last 
drop  of  blood,  except  that,  knowing  him  as  I 
107 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

do,  I  conceived  such  a  recommendation  to  be 
wholly  superfluous.  Mr.  Rathbawne  has  his 
character  and  his  record  behind  him.  There 
is  about  as  much  chance  of  his  yielding  you 
an  inch  of  ground  as  if  he  were  standing  with 
his  back  against  the  Capitol !  " 

McGrath  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  It 's  a  damned  funny  way  you  have  of 
not  influencing  people's  judgment,"  he  said. 

"  I  mis-stated  my  attitude  in  saying  that," 
retorted  the  Lieutenant-Governor  coolly.  "I 
should  have  said,  what,  after  all,  is  self-evi 
dent,  that  I  had  no  intention  of  trying  to  in 
fluence  Mr.  Rathbawne  in  favor  of  the  Union, 
at  least  so  long  as  it  is  acting  under  your  dic 
tation.  Its  present  character  is  well  known  — 
almost  as  well  known  as  yours,  in  fact — and 
I  believe  its  position  in  this  matter  to  be  en 
tirely  untenable,  unjustifiable,  and  iniquitous. 
I  may  add  that  if  it  is,  indeed,  Governor  Ab 
bott's  resolve  that  I  am  to  deal,  in  his  stead, 
with  the  question  of  your  proposed  strike,  you 
may  confidently  rely  upon  having  to  put  the 
entire  state  force  of  Alleghenia  out  of  busi- 
108 


McGRATH  LAUGHS 

ness  before  you  can  even  so  much  as  begin  to 
bully  Peter  Rathbawne  into  submission  !  " 

"  I£  that 's  your  opinion  of  the  Union," 
said  McGrath  sullenly,  "  it  might  be  interest 
ing  to  hear  your  opinion  of  me." 

"  You  are  perfectly  welcome  to  it,"  replied 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  easily.  "  I  consider 
you  an  unmitigated  blackguard  !  " 

Governor  Abbott  tipped  back  his  chair  and 
looked  at  McGrath. 

"  That 's  pretty  plain  talk,"  he  said.  "You 
see  how  it  is,  Mr.  McGrath.  You  '11  have  to 
go  ahead  on  your  own  responsibility,  and  you 
must  n't  be  surprised  if  the  State  steps  in  at 
the  first  evidence  of  disorder." 

McGrath  rose,  flecked  some  specks  of  dust 
from  his  waistcoat,  and  walked  toward  the 
door  without  a  word.  On  the  threshold  he 
turned,  looked  from  the  Governor  to  the  Lieu 
tenant-Governor,  and  back  again,  and  laughed. 
Then  he  went  out,  closing  the  door  softly 
behind  him. 

At  the  Rathbawne  Mills  it  was  usual  for  a 
huge  whistle  to  give  one  long  blast  at  noon  as 
109 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

a  signal  for  the  lunch  hour.  On  that  day, 
however,  following  McGrath's  instructions, 
the  single  blast  was  replaced  by  five  short 
ones  in  rapid  succession,  and  three  minutes 
later  the  employees  were  pouring  through 
half  a  dozen  gates  into  the  streets  surround 
ing  the  mills,  in  laughing,  chattering,  excited 
streams. 

A  majority  of  the  men  went  directly  to  a 
hall  in  the  neighborhood  where  McGrath  had 
called  a  mass-meeting  for  half-past  twelve.  A 
minority  of  them  crowded  into  the  saloons 
of  the  vicinity,  where  they  pounded  on  the 
bars,  and  filled  the  close,  smoke-grayed  air 
with  heated  discussion.  Several  of  the  dis 
charged  hands  were  in  evidence,  each  sur 
rounded  by  an  attentive  group,  and  expound 
ing  more  or  less  inflammatory  views.  The 
women  gathered  in  gossiping  throngs  on  the 
sidewalks,  laughing,  and  pulling  each  other 
about  by  the  arms.  The  boys  played  ball  and 
leap-frog  in  the  streets,  shouting,  and  whis 
tling  through  their  fingers.  In  brief,  the 
great  strike  was  on,  but,  for  the  time  being,  it 
110 


McGRATH  LAUGHS 

was  masquerading  in  the  guise  of  a  public 
holiday. 

At  one  o'clock  the  whistle  blew  again,  and 
a  thousand  voices  whooped  a  derisive  accom 
paniment,  but  no  one  of  the  throng  in  the 
streets  made  a  move  toward  the  mills.  Half 
an  hour  later,  watchmen  swung  to  and  bolted 
the  gates,  and,  issuing  presently  from  a  small 
side  entrance,  in  company,  were  received  with 
cheers,  handshakes,  and  slaps  upon  the  back. 
Then  the  crowd  gradually  thinned,  —  many 
going  to  the  already  well  -  filled  hall  where 
McGrath  was  delivering  an  address,  and  others 
to  their  homes,  —  and  a  silence  descended 
upon  the  neighborhood,  broken  only  by  the 
voices  of  the  men  about  the  saloon  doorways. 

At  two,  Peter  Rathbawne,  attended  by  his 
private  secretary,  came  out  of  the  side  entrance 
and  walked  slowly  away  in  the  direction  of 
his  home.  He  held  his  head  high,  and  his 
eyes  straight  to  the  front,  and  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  the  respectful  greetings  of  those  of  the 
strikers  who  saluted  him,  touching  their  hats. 
There  were  many  among  them  whose  hearts 
111 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

sank  at  this  attitude  in  a  man  who  had  made  it 
his  boast  that  he  knew  every  hand  in  his  mills 
by  sight,  and  who,  in  the  past,  had  had  a  nod  or 
a  friendly  word  for  each  and  all  of  them.  For 
the  first  time  a  premonition  settled  upon  them 
of  what  this  strike,  which  had  been  welcomed 
principally  for  novelty's  sake,  might  mean. 
It  was  the  first  the  Rathbawne  Mills  had  ever 
known.  Some  of  those  who  saw  the  face  of 
Peter  Rathbawne  that  afternoon  were  already 
hoping  that  it  might  be  the  last. 

The  Lieutenant-Govern  or  returned  to  his 
apartment  for  lunch.  Cavendish  was  still 
sleeping  as  he  had  left  him,  with  a  stalwart 
negro  porter,  summoned  from  the  Capitol  by 
telephone  early  that  morning,  watching  in  a 
chair.  Under  Barclay's  orders,  a  carpenter 
had  already  removed  the  splintered  door  of 
the  wine-closet,  and  an  upholsterer  had  re 
placed  it  by  a  slender  brass  rod  from  which 
swung  a  velvet  curtain.  With  his  own  hands 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  had  taken  away  the 
fallen  bottle,  mopped  up  the  pool  of  absinthe, 
and  put  the  room  to  rights.  Now  he  dis- 
112 


McGRATH  LAUGHS 

missed  the  negro,  took  from  his  pocket  a  little 
box  of  strychnine  tablets,  obtained  from  his 
physician  on  his  way  from  the  Capitol,  and, 
after  a  brief  survey  of  his  surroundings  to 
see  that  all  was  in  order,  went  over  to  the 
divan  and  shook  the  sleeping  man  by  the 
shoulders. 

"  Come,  lazy-bones ! "  he  said,  with  a  laugh. 
"  You  've  slept  over  twelve  hours.  That  will 
do  —  even  for  a  nervous  wreck." 

Cavendish  opened  his  swollen  eyes  slowly, 
looked  at  him,  and  then  closed-  them  again 
with  a  murmured  "  Oh,  God  !  "  which  was 
like  a  groan. 

To  this  the  Lieutenant-Governor  paid  no 
heed.  Passing  into  the  bathroom,  he  turned 
on  the  cold  water  in  the  tub,  poured  a  half 
glass  of  vichy  from  a  syphon,  and  then  re 
turned,  carrying  the  tumbler  in  his  hand. 
Cavendish  had  raised  himself  on  one  elbow, 
and  was  looking  stupidly  about  the  room. 

"  Here  you  are,"  said  Barclay  cheerfully. 
u  Stow  this  pill,  and  here  's  vichy  to  wash  it 
down.  Your  bath  's  running.  By  the  time 
113 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

you  've  had  it,  there  '11  be  some  clothes  ready 
for  you." 

Cavendish  gulped  down  the  tablet,  and  sat 
upright. 

"  Last  night "  —  he  faltered. 

For  the  first  time  in  his  life,  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  called  him  by  his  first  name. 

"  Last  night,  Spencer,"  he  said,  looking 
him  fairly  in  the  eye,  "  belongs  to  the  past, 
and  is  taboo.  I  won't  hear  a  word  about  it. 
This  is  to-day.  Get  up,  and  we  '11  set  about 
putting  wrong  right.  You  're  a  man  again. 
Don't  forget  that.  And  I'm  your  friend. 
Don't  forget  that,  either." 

His  hand  rested  for  an  instant  on  the  oth 
er's  shoulder  with  a  firm  pressure,  and  then 
he  passed  into  his  bedroom  and  shut  the  door. 

They  had  lunch  together  in  the  dining- 
room  of  the  "  Rockingham,"  and  then  went 
up  again  to  Barclay's  rooms.  At  the  door, 
Cavendish  came  to  a  halt. 

"I  can't  stand  this,"  he  said. 

"  You  '11  have  to,"  replied  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  "  so  shut  up  !  " 
114 


McGRATH  LAUGHS 

"  You  've  made  a  change,"  said  Cavendish 
obstinately,  pointing  to  the  curtained  cup 
board. 

Barclay's  eyes  did  not  follow  the  gesture. 

"  So  have  you !  "  he  answered.  "  Now, 
look  here.  There  are  twenty  dollars  in  the 
waistcoat  of  that  suit,  and  a  letter  to  Pay- 
son  of  the  *  Kenton  City  Sentinel.'  Go  down 
and  see  him  this  afternoon,  and  I  think  he  '11 
give  you  a  job  at  reporting,  which  will  fix  you 
up  for  the  present.  In  another  pocket  you'll 
find  a  box,  with  three  tablets  like  the  one  you 
had  before  lunch.  Take  one  of  them  every 
two  hours.  In  still  another  pocket  there 's  a 
key  to  these  rooms.  I  'm  going  to  be  busy 
till  about  ten  o'clock,  so  you  '11  have  to  shift 
for  yourself.  Make  yourself  at  home,  and  if 
you  're  awake  I  '11  see  you  when  I  come  in." 

Taking  him  suddenly  by  the  shoulders,  he 
twisted  him  about,  facing  the  chimney  piece, 
on  which  stood  a  photograph  of  Natalie  Rath- 
bawne,  smiling  out  of  a  silver  frame. 

"  I  '11  leave  you  to  talk  it  out  with  her,"  he 
added  simply. 

115 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

In  the  hall,  as  he  passed  out,  he  caught  a 
reflection  of  Cavendish  in  a  mirror.  His 
hands  were  resting  on  the  mantel-edge,  and 
he  was  leaning  forward  with  his  haggard  face 
close  to  the  photograph.  Barclay  looked  at 
his  watch. 

"Two  o'clock/'  he  said  to  himself,  "and 
all 'swell!" 


116 


VII 

THE    MIRAGE    OF   POWER 

BARCLAY  was  conscious  of  a  feeling  of  ex 
hilaration  such  as  he  had  not  known  for  many 
weeks,  as  he  swung  into  Bradbury  Avenue 
late  that  afternoon  on  his  way  to  the  Rath- 
bawne  residence.  The  duties  of  the  day  had 
been  inordinately  petty  and  vexatious,  but  he 
had  dispatched  them  one  and  all  with  some 
thing  approaching  enthusiasm,  —  a  touch  of 
the  old  Quixotic  energy  with  which  he  had 
taken  office.  The  morning  conversation  in 
Governor  Abbott's  room  had  braced  and  toned 
him.  He  forgot  its  inauspicious  opening,  and 
even  his  distress  at  the  attempt  to  force  him 
into  the  position  of  mediator  between  Peter 
Rathbawne  and  the  Union,  in  the  solid  satis 
faction  of  having  been  able  to  speak  his  mind 
to  McGrath,  and  call  that  worthy  a  black 
guard  to  his  face.  He  was  a  man  who  de- 
117 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

spised  a  quarrel,  but,  for  its  own  sake,  loved 
a  square,  hard  fight. 

Back,  however,  of  this  somewhat  inadequate 
excuse  for  cheerfulness  lay  the  Governor's  as 
surance  that  in  the  matter  of  the  strike  his 
lieutenant  was  to  have  free  rein.  It  was  the 
first  time  since  the  beginning  of  their  official 
association  that  Elijah  Abbott  had  placed  an 
actual  responsibility  in  Barclay's  hands.  A 
corner-stone  laying,  a  banquet  here  and  there, 
the  opening  of  a  trolley  line,  or  a  library,  or  a 
sewer,  —  these  were  the  major  calls  upon  the 
Lieutenant-Governor's  time.  The  main  current 
of  routine  was  a  hopeless  monotony  of  offi 
cial  correspondence,  investigations,  statistics, 
reading  and  reporting  on  the  interminable 
and  flatulent  maunderings  of  the  Legislature, 
—  duties  heart-breaking  in  their  desperate 
tedium  and  maddening  inutility. 

But  at  last  here  was  responsibility,  actual 
and  deeply  significant,  calling  for  the  exercise 
of  tact,  courage,  and  immutable  firmness. 
The  particular  task  was  not  one  which  he 
would  have  coveted,  and  yet  he  welcomed  it. 
118 


THE  MIRAGE  OF  POWER 

Anything,  —  anything  to  assuage  in  him  that 
sense  of  ineptitude,  of  being  ignored,  a  titled 
nonentity ! 

With  this  vast  lightening  of  spirit  came, 
not  only  gratitude,  but  a  sense  of  lenity  to 
ward  Governor  Abbott.  He  encouraged  him 
self  to  believe  that  the  note  between  them 
had  been  one  of  misunderstanding  merely.  It 
might  not  be  too  late,  after  all !  Gradually, 
he  began  to  form  a  mental  picture  of  a  grow 
ing  sympathy  and  affiliation  between  them, 
large  with  possibilities  of  improvement  for 
Alleghenia.  As  he  turned  into  the  Rath- 
bawnes'  gateway,  he  could  have  laughed  aloud 
for  very  lightness  of  heart.  His  optimism 
was  not  even  impaired  by  running,  in  the 
hall,  full  against  Mrs.  Rathbawne. 

"  Good  gracious !  Lieutenant-Governor,  is 
that  you?" 

Repeated  and  earnest  endeavor  on  Barclay's 
part  had  never  dissuaded  her  from  this  form 
of  address. 

"  What  is  the  use  of  having  such  a  title,  if 
one  can't  call  you  by  it?"  she  would  say, 
119 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

when  he  remonstrated.  "  Do  you  suppose 
that,  if  Natalie  were  engaged  to  a  prince,  I 
should  be  going  around,  calling  him  Tom, 
Dick,  or  Harry,  instead  of  f  Your  Royal  High 
ness  '  ?  You  ought  to  be  proud  of  your  title, 
/am!" 

"  But,  Mrs.  Rathbawne  "  — 

"  Now,  please  not,  Lieutenant-Governor, 
please  not !  I  like  it  best  that  way." 

The  north  wind  was  attentive  and  amenable 
to  the  voice  of  persuasion,  in  comparison  with 
Josephine  Rathbawne. 

"  Of  course  you  know  the  strike  is  on  ! "  she 
continued  now,  without  waiting  for  an  assur 
ance  from  Barclay  that  he  was  indeed  none 
other  than  himself.  "  Is  n't  it  awful  f  I  ex 
pect  to  hear  the  roar  of  the  mob  at  any  mo 
ment  !  Come  into  the  drawing-room.  Natalie 
was  there,  only  half  an  hour  ago." 

And  she  swept  through  the  doorway,  Bar 
clay  following. 

"  Natalie,"  she  began,  "  here  's  the  Lieu — 
why,  Dorothy  f  I  took  you  for  Natalie.  And 
—  er  —  oh !  Why,  Mr.  —  er —  how  de  do  ? 
120 


THE  MIRAGE  OF  POWER 

I  did  n't  see  you  at  first.  Oh,  do  turn  on  the 
switch,  my  dear.  The  place  is  as  black  as 
pitch." 

The  electric  light,  flooding  the  room,  re 
vealed  young  Nisbet,  one  vast,  consuming 
blush,  and  Dorothy,  with  a  dangerous  light 
in  her  eyes,  and  her  lips  tightly  compressed. 
It  was  plain  that  Mrs.  Rathbawne  had  fallen 
foul  of  Dan  Cupid's  machinery  once  more ! 

"  Why,  Mr.  Nisbet !  I  thought  you  were 
in  New  York." 

"I  had  a  telegram  this  morning,  calling 
the  date  off,"  said  young  Nisbet  in  pitiable 
confusion ;  "  that  is,  I  did  n't  have  to  go,  you 
know.  So  I  just  fell  in  here  to  explain.  I 
thought  some  of  you  might  spot  me  on  the 
street,  and  after  I  'd  said  "  — 

He  began  to  flounder  hopelessly,  and  cast  a 
glance  of  mute  appeal  at  Dorothy.  That  facile 
young  lady  marched  directly  into  the  breach. 

"  If  you  and  John  are  looking  for  Natalie," 
she  said,  "  you  '11  find  her  in  the  library  with 
Dad.  How  do  you  do,  John  ?  " 

"  Pretty  well,  I  thank  you,  Flibbertigibbet. 
121 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

It  is  really  your  husband  whom  I  came  to  see, 
Mrs.  Rathbawne.  I  've  a  little  business  with 
him,  so,  for  the  moment,  I  '11  have  to  give 
Natalie  the  cold  shoulder." 

"  Oh !  "  said  Mrs.  Rathbawne,  lifting  her 
fat  hands.  "  Of  course,  Lieutenant-Governor ! 
I  understand  perfectly.  Business  before  plea 
sure,  always.  Go  right  in,  won't  you,  and 
send  Natalie  here  to  me.  /  'II  stay  here. 
Are  n't  we  going  to  have  tea,  Dorothy  ?  Oh, 
do  try  to  sit  up  straight,  my  dear  !  " 

Natalie  and  her  father  were  bending  low 
over  a  great  portfolio,  their  heads  close  to 
gether  in  the  yellow  glow  of  the  table-lamp, 
which  was  the  only  light  in  the  room.  Rath 
bawne  looked  up  with  a  grim  smile,  as  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  entered. 

"  Pottering  over  my  autographs,  again,  you 
see,"  he  remarked.  "  I  've  been  neglecting 
them  shamefully,  of  late  —  eh,  Natalie  ?  Did 
n't  have  the  time.  It  looks  just  now  as  if  I 
would  n't  have  to  complain  again  of  lack  of 
leisure  for  quite  a  while  !  " 

"  It  was  that  I  dropped  in  to  see  you 
122 


about,"  said  Barclay,  striving,  with  only  par 
tial  success,  to  keep  the  exultation  out  of  his 
voice.  "  You  may  not  be  in  for  so  much 
leisure  as  you  imagine,  Mr.  Rathbawne.  You 
may  not  get  much  of  a  holiday,  after  all." 

Without  for  an  instant  losing  the  Lieuten 
ant-Governor's  eye,  Rathbawne  reached  out 
and  touched  his  daughter  on  the  arm. 

"  Oh,  Dad  !  "  she  said  reproachfully. 

"  There  's  no  need  for  her  to  go,  sir," 
added  Barclay,  "  unless  you  wish  it.  I  bring 
only  good  news." 

Acquiescing,  Rathbawne  drew  Natalie  close 
to  him,  passing  one  arm  across  her  shoulders, 
so  that  his  gnarled  hand  rested  firmly  on  the 
delicate  fabric  of  her  sleeve.  Between  these 
two  there  had  always  lain  a  sympathy,  an 
affection,  a  mutuality  of  comprehension,  more 
like  the  relation  of  husband  and  wife  than 
that  of  child  and  parent. 

"  Nothing  but  good  news  ? "  answered 
Rathbawne.  «  Go  on.  What  is  it  ?  " 

"  News  not  so  much  of  actual  happenings 
as  of  potentialities,"  said  the  Lieutenant-Gov- 
123 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

ernor.  "  Last  night  I  had  to  say  to  you  that 
in  the  cause  of  right  I  was  as  powerless  to 
aid  you  as  a  baby.  To-night,  I  have  come  to 
tell  you  that  I  am  in  a  position  to  see  justice 
done,  and  that  I  will." 

In  detail,  his  voice  ringing  with  enthusiasm 
and  confidence,  he  described  the  interview  of 
that  morning,  his  statement  of  Rathbawne's 
position,  his  passage  at  arms  with  McGrath, 
finally,  the  Governor's  announcement  that  the 
strike  was  to  be  supervised  by  his  lieutenant 
in  his  stead. 

"I  had  almost  lost  hope,"  he  concluded. 
"  I  thought  my  opportunity  would  never  come, 
and  here  it  is,  after  all  —  the  chance  to  act ! 
And,  somehow,  I  feel  that  it  is  only  the  be 
ginning —  that,  as  he  gets  to  understand  me 
better  "  — 

Rathbawne  suddenly  left  his  daughter's 
side,  and  in  three  steps  was  directly  before 
the  Lieutenant-Governor.  As  he  interrupted 
him,  his  fingers  closed  upon  the  lapels  of  the 
other's  coat,  and  he  punctuated  his  words 
with  little  tugs  at  these,  his  knuckles  coming 
124 


THE  MIKAGE  OF  POWER 

together  with  tiny  muffled  thuds.  He  spoke 
with  a  gravity  that  was  vibrant  with  sup 
pressed  anger  and  slow  with  sincere  regret. 

"My  boy,"  he  said,  "it  's  not  a  gracious 
thing  to  do  to  spoil  an  enthusiasm  like  yours, 
but  don't  deceive  yourself.  Elijah  Abbott  as 
a  trickster  is  alone  in  his  class.  You  were 
never  more  powerless  to  act  for  the  right 
than  you  are  at  this  moment." 

"  But  I  have  his  assurance  "  — 

"Oh,  his  assurance!  It  is  n't  worth  the 
ash  off  your  cigar.  What,  give  you  a  chance 
to  interfere  with  the  will  of  the  Union  which 
made  him,  and  owns  him,  body  and  soul? 
Never  in  God's  world !  Listen  to  me.  I 
spent  an  hour  in  his  office  this  very  after 
noon,  discussing  the  strike  —  and  he  never  so 
much  as  mentioned  your  name  !  " 

The  Lieutenant-Governor  winced  as  if  the 
words  had  been  the  touch  of  a  lancet.  Then 
he  closed  his  eyes. 

"And  I  was  in  the  next  room,"  he  said, 
almost  as  if  to  himself,  —  "  planning  —  my 
—  control  —  of  the  situation  !  Good  God ! " 
125 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  I  went  directly  to  him,"  continued  Rath- 
bawne,  "  because  I  knew  that  it  would  be 
purely  and  simply  a  waste  of  time  to  parley 
with  the  lesser  officials  who  are  either  help 
less  or  frankly  his  tools.  I  knew,  too,  that 
no  satisfactory  result  would  come  of  appeal 
ing  to  him,  but  I  wanted  to  give  him  the 
chance.  All  I  asked  of  him  was  an  assurance 
that  the  mills  would  have  proper  police  pro 
tection,  and  that,  if  necessary,  the  militia 
would  be  called  out  in  support  of  order.  The 
outcome  was  exactly  what  I  expected.  Gov 
ernor  Abbott  rubbed  his  hands,  and  smiled, 
and  said  :  '  All  in  good  time,  Mr.  Rathbawne, 
ah1  in  good  time.  When  the  conditions  seem 
to  warrant  it,  we  can  discuss  these  measures.' 
That  means  that  they  are  free  to  blow  the 
mills  to  kingdom  come,  before  a  finger  will 
be  raised  by  the  authorities  to  prevent  them. 
And  what 's  more,  they  '11  do  it !  Do  you 
think  I  don't  know  McGrath  ?  " 

As  he  had  intended  it  should,  this  speech 
had  given  the  other  a  chance  to  recover  him 
self.  The  Lieutenant  -  Governor's  habitual 
126 


THE  MIRAGE   OF  POWER 

poise  was  already  restored,  and  his  voice,  as 
he  answered,  was  quite  steady,  but  eloquent 
of  his  desperate  discouragement  and  weari 
ness. 

"I  hope  it's  not  as  bad  as  all  that,  Mr. 
Rathbawne.  It 's  not  necessary  to  tell  you, 
that  for  me  there  can  never  again  be  such  a 
thing  as  trusting  the  word  of  Governor  Ab 
bott  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  I  can  hardly  bring 
myself  to  believe  that  he  would  openly  coun 
tenance  the  practical  existence  of  anarchy  in 
the  capital  city  of  Alleghenia." 

"  Well,  I  can,  then  !  "  declared  Rathbawne. 
"  I  can  believe  anything  of  him  !  Mark  my 
words,  John,  he 's  as  sleek  a  scoundrel  as 
you  '11  find  outside  of  the  State's  Prison.  He 
cares  less  for  Alleghenia  and  her  capital  city 
than  you  do  for  one  of  the  hairs  on  his  ras 
cally  head.  I  tell  you,  the  Union  has  bought 
him,  body  and  soul,  and  unless  a  miracle  comes 
down  from  heaven,  I  'm  a  beaten  man !  " 

Barclay  bit  his  lips  without  replying.     In 
his  heart  of  hearts,  he  knew  that  Peter  Rath- 
bawne's  words  were  true. 
127 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  He  '11  be  impeached,  sooner  or  later," 
continued  the  old  man,  "  if  there 's  a  speck  of 
decency  left  in  the  Legislature  —  which  I 
doubt.  But  long  before  that,  John,  long  be 
fore  that,  I  '11  be  down  and  out.  I  would  to 
God  you  were  Governor  of  Alleghenia,  my 
boy.  You  're  the  only  ray  of  hope  I  can  see 
for  her." 

The  Lieutenant-Governor  fell  back  a  step, 
and  covered  his  face  with  his  hands.  For  a 
full  minute  there  was  absolute  silence.  Rath- 
bawne  had  returned  to  the  table,  and,  with  his 
fore-arms  across  the  back  of  a  chair,  and  one 
foot  on  the  lower  cross-bar,  was  staring  va 
cantly  at  his  autographs,  his  hands  moulding 
and  remoulding  each  other  into  an  infinity  of 
forms.  Natalie  was  at  the  window,  her  face 
in  the  crevice  between  the  curtains.  The 
same  impulse  had  prompted  both  father  and 
daughter.  There  are  some  things  which  it  is 
better  not  to  watch. 

They  turned  at  the  sound  of  his  voice,  to 
find  him  with  his  head  flung  back,  his  hands 
clenched  at  his  sides,  his  right  foot  planted 
128 


THE  MIRAGE  OF  POWER' 

firmly  in  advance  of  his  left,  his  whole  bearing 
one  of  passionate  earnestness.  And,  though 
he  was  seemingly  addressing  Rathbawne,  there 
was  that  in  his  voice  and  in  his  words  which 
was  meant  for  every  ear  in  the  state ! 

"  Governor  of  Alleghenia  !  "  he  said,  "  I 
would  to  God  I  were !  Sometimes  I  almost 
—  yes,  sometimes  I  wholly  despair.  I  love 
this  state,  Mr.  Rathbawne,  as  I  love  nothing 
else  on  earth  —  not  even  my  girl  there,  not 
even  Natalie.  You  two  are  the  only  ones  in 
the  world  who  can  understand  what  it  means 
when  I  say  that.  It  has  always  been  so,  ever 
since  I  was  big  enough  to  know  what  Alle 
ghenia  meant,  and  more  than  ever  since  I 
have  come  to  understand  her  shame,  and  her 
vital  peril,  and  her  dire  need.  I've  never 
tried  to  explain  the  feeling ;  I  've  never  found 
any  one  who  seemed  to  share  it  with  me.  I 
hear  other  men  talk  of  national  patriotism, 
and  the  flag1,  and  all  that,  and  I  understand 

O'  ' 

it,  and   honor  them  for  it.     But  —  while  it 
may  be  only  a  fancy  of  mine  —  for  me  Ken- 
ton  City  comes  even  before  Washington,  and 
129 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

even  before  these  United  States  of  America 
the  sovereign  state  of  Alleghenia !  I  would 
have  her  courts  incorruptibility  itself,  her  gov 
ernment  the  perfect  commingling  of  equity 
and  mercy;  her  press  the  vehicle  of  verity, 
intelligence,  and  watchf ulness ;  her  public 
servants  the  faithful  exponents  of  loyalty  and 
diligence;  her  people,  one  and  all,  whatever  is 
best  in  our  interpretation  of  the  word  Ameri 
can  —  and  then,  something  more !  —  AJle- 
ghenians !  —  citizens,  not  only  of  the  Republic, 
but  of  the  state  which  I  would  have  shine 
brightest  in  the  field  of  stars,  and  be  quoted, 
from  Maine  to  California,  and  from  Florida 
to  Washington,  as  the  synonym  for  law  and 
order,  truth,  integrity,  and  justice.  You  know 
how  far  the  dream  is  from  the  reality.  We 
are  held  up  to  ridicule  and  contempt  as  law 
breakers,  time-servers,  and  bribe-takers  —  and 
we  deserve  it !  I  can't  see  help  on  any  hand. 
I  don't  believe  our  people,  as  a  class,  are  actu 
ally  vicious  and  corrupt  —  only  callous  and 
indifferent,  accustomed  so  long  to  the  spec 
tacle  of  political  chicanery  and  depravity  that 
130 


THE  MIRAGE   OF  POWER 

they  have  lost  their  ability  to  appreciate  its 
significance.  But,  so  far  as  results  are  con 
cerned,  it  all  amounts  to  the  same  thing. 
Once,  I  hoped  I  should  be  able  to  do  some 
thing.  But  now  —  I  'm  a  nonentity,  Mr. 
Rathbawne,  as  you  know,  and  not  only  that, 
but  a  man  who  has  taken  a  false  step,  from 
which  he  can  never  recover.  I  'm  dead, 
politically  speaking  —  as  dead  as  Benjamin 
Butler ! " 

He  paused,  drawing  a  deep  breath. 

"  We  were  speaking  of  your  interview," 
he  added,  more  evenly.  "  What  was  the 
result?" 

"  Nothing,  beyond  what  I  've  told  you," 
answered  Rathbawne,  shaking  his  head.  "  All 
I  can  do  is  to  keep  my  mouth  shut,  await  de 
velopments,  and  trust  in  a  Providence  which 
it  takes  a  good  bit  of  obstinacy  to  believe 
has  n't  deserted  the  state  of  Alleghenia  for 
good  and  all.  It  is  n't  for  my  own  sake  alone, 
John,  that  I  pray  the  Union  will  give  in  be 
fore  my  people  begin  to  think  of  violence. 
You  remember  '94  in  Chicago?  Well,  we 
131 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVEKNOR 

don't  want  anything  like  that  in  Kenton  City. 
It  would  be  the  last  straw !  Alleghenia  has 
a  big  enough  burden  of  disgrace  to  carry,  as 
it  is." 

A  servant  entered,  even  as  he  was  speaking, 
to  summon  him  to  the  telephone,  and  with  an 
exclamation  of  impatience  he  left  the  room. 
Immediately,  Natalie  stepped  from  her  post  at 
the  window,  and  came  toward  Barclay  with 
outstretched  hands. 

"Oh,  Johnny  boy,"  she  said,  "I'm  so 
sorry.  How  you  've  been  hurt,  dear,  and  dis 
appointed,  and  cruelly  wronged  !  " 

The  Lieutenant-Governor's  hands  clenched 
again  at  the  sound  of  sorrow  in  her  voice,  and 
he  strove  in  vain  to  control  the  tremor  of  his 
lip.  Tenderly  he  put  his  arms  about  her. 

"  I  'm  sorry,  too,  little  girl  —  sorry  you 
were  here  to  see  me  make  a  fool  of  myself  and 
then  squeal  when  I  got  hurt  as  I  deserved.  I 
should  n't  have  done  that.  But  I  was  so  proud 
—  so  grateful  —  I  thought  I  was  going  to  be 
able  "- 

"  Johnny  —  Johnny  I " 
132 


THE   MIEAGE   OF  POWER 

They  held  to  each  other  rigidly  for  an  in 
stant,  her  face  against  his  sleeve,  in  an  agony 
which  no  tears  came  to  soothe. 

"  There !  "  said  Barclay  presently.  "  I  'm 
better  already.  It  does  one  good  to  blow  off 
steam,  now  and  again." 

His  tone  lightened  perceptibly. 

"  And  look  here,"  he  added,  "  what 's  most 
important,  after  all,  is  that  I  have  news  for 
you,  and  ought  to  be  delivering  it." 

As  yet,  they  did  not  dare  to  meet  each 
other's  eyes,  but  Natalie  took  the  cue. 

"  You  can  spare  yourself  the  trouble,  my 
lord,"  she  retorted,  sweeping  him  a  curtsy. 
"  I  can  guess  what  it  is,  without  your  aid. 
You  've  found  him  !  " 

"  How  did  you  know  ?  " 

"  I  did  n't.  But  you  will  remember  that  I 
asked  you  to  find  him.  The  inference  is  as 
plain  as  a  pikestaff." 

"  Arrogance  !     But  you  're  right.     I  have. 
He  has  been  at  my  rooms  since  last  night. 
He  was  frightfully  shaky,  and  utterly  despond 
ent,  but  he  's  taking  something  to  settle  his 
133 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

nerves,  and  I  've  no  doubt  a  week  or  so  of 
good  food  and  straight  living  will  bring  bim 
around  into  something  like  bis  old  form." 

"  Boy  dear !  And  you  're  taking  care  of 
him?" 

"  Ob,  just  directing  the  cure,  that 's  all ! 
I  '11  tell  you  more  when  I  can  report  definite 
progress.  Do  you  suppose  there  is  a  single 
secluded  corner  in  all  this  mansion  which  has 
not  already  been  preempted  by  Dorothy  and 
Nisbet?" 

He  slipped  his  arm  about  her  again,  and 
together  they  went  out,  across  the  wide  hall, 
toward  the  drawing-room.  Rathbawne  was 
standing  at  the  telephone  under  the  stairway, 
but,  as  they  approached  him,  he  replaced  the 
receiver,  and  stepped  forth  under  the  light  of 
the  chandelier.  They  both  halted,  shocked 
into  speechlessness  by  the  look  on  his  face. 
The  past  ten  minutes  seemed  to  have  added 
a  decade  to  his  age.  His  cheeks  were  white 
and  drawn,  and  with  his  hands  he  groped  be 
fore  him,  as  if  he  had  been  stricken  blind. 
As  he  came  close  to  them,  he  lifted  his  head, 
134 


THE  MIRAGE  OF  POWER 

and  peered  first  at  his  daughter,  and  then  at 
Barclay,  seeming  barely  to  recognize  them. 

"Dad!  What  is  it?"  said  the  girl,  in  a 
voice  just  above  a  whisper. 

Rathbawne  raised  his  hand,  and  pushed 
back  the  hair  from  his  forehead. 

"  A  message  —  from  Payson  —  of  the  l  Sen 
tinel/  "  he  mumbled.  "  It  seems  there 's  a 
fire  —  a  fire  on  Charles  Street  —  near  the  mills 
—  one  of  my  buildings  —  a  shop  —  a  shop. 
Some  one  in  the  crowd  —  threw  a  torch  in 
at  the  window  —  there  is  a  great  crowd  — 
a  throng  of  strikers  —  watching  —  cheering 
the  flames  —  hissing  the  firemen.  They  've 
begun  early  —  and  this  is  only  the  begin 
ning  !  My  people  —  my  people  "  — 

He  stumbled  forward,  and  would  have 
fallen,  but  that  his  daughter  caught  him.  To 
his  dying  day  Barclay  remembered  how,  as 
he  sprang  to  aid  her,  her  hands  gleamed, 
white  and  slender,  against  the  black  of  Peter 
Rathbawne's  coat. 

The  hush  that  followed  was  broken  pres 
ently  by  the  sound  of  the  old  man's  choking 
135 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

sobs,  and  the  low,  soothing  tones  of  Natalie, 
murmuring  against  his  ear.  From  the  draw 
ing-room  came  indeterminate  scraps  of  Mrs. 
Wynyard's  gay  chatter,  as  she  regaled  Mrs. 
Rathbawne  with  the  gossip  gleaned  in  a  round 
of  calls.  She  herself  was  partly  visible,  draw 
ing  off  her  gloves  before  the  fire.  From  the 
music-room  beyond  issued  the  chords  of  Doro 
thy's  none-too-sure  accompaniment,  and  young 
Nisbet's  superb,  full  tenor  :  — 

" '  Ah,  love,  could  you  and  I  with  fate  conspire 
To  grasp  the  sorry  schema  of  things  entire  '  "  — 

But,  in  the  Lieutenant-Governor's  imagina 
tion,  another  sound  mingled  with  and  domi 
nated  these,  —  the  voice  of  Michael  McGrath, 
as  he  had  heard  it  that  morning,  through  the 
open  door  of  Governor  Abbott's  room :  — 

"  It  won't  be  a  strike  like  other  strikes,  not 
so  long  as  I  'm  running  it,  that  is.  It 's  go 
ing  to  mean  business  from  the  word  go  !  " 


136 


VIII 

THE    GOVERNOR    UNMASKS 

ONE  spotted  peach  will  contaminate  an  en 
tire  basket,  one  drop  of  ink  cloud  a  full  glass 
of  clear  water.  It  was  so  in  the  case  of  the 
strikers  at  the  Rathbawne  Mills.  Their  un 
wonted  idleness,  the  long  succession  of  empty 
hours,  already,  among  the  more  improvident, 
the  preliminary  pressure  of  privation's  teeth, 
—  all  these  made  them  easy  prey  for  the  so 
phistries  of  men  like  McGrath  and  his  asso 
ciates.  At  first  they  simply  laughed  at  the 
arraignments  of  Peter  Rathbawne  as  a  pluto 
crat,  a  slave-master,  and  an  oppressor  of  the 
poor,  knowing  better  in  their  hearts.  But 
the  memory  of  past  kindness  is  too  apt  to 
be  the  most  fleeting  of  human  impressions. 
On  the  one  side  the  gates  of  the  Rathbawne 
Mills  remained  obstinately  closed,  and,  though 
Rathbawne  himself  manifested  no  intention 
137 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

of  resorting  to  the  intolerable  importation 
of  "  scab  "  labor,  he  persisted  in  his  refusal 
to  treat  with  the  Union  so  long  as  the  dis 
charge  of  the  fifteen  men  remained  a  subject 
proposed  for  debate.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  denunciations  of  McGrath  and  the  other 
Union  orators  were  constant,  unavoidable,  and 
sufficiently  plausible  to  produce  an  impres 
sion,  and  linger  in  the  mind.  And,  mean 
while,  to  and  fro  among  the  strikers,  stalked, 
arm  in  arm,  the  spectres  of  idleness  and 
starvation,  the  one  smirking  openly,  the  other, 
as  yet,  half-veiled.  Altogether  it  was  fertile 
ground. 

After  the  burning  of  Mr.  Rathbawne's 
shop,  on  the  first  night  of  the  strike,  ensued 
a  week  of  comparative  quiet.  The  outrage 
had  been  flagrant,  the  source,  if  not  the  very 
author,  of  it  was  known,  and  the  police  did  — 
nothing.  For  three  days  the  press  of  Kenton 
City  blazed  with  indignation,  excepting  only 
the  "  Record,"  which  openly  favored  the  strik 
ers,  and  then  all  the  papers  alike  suddenly 
ceased  to  refer  to  the  incident  at  all.  For, 
138 


while  McGrath  was  not  in  favor  of  wasting 
the  funds  of  the  Union,  he  was  as  well  aware 
as  the  next  man  that  a  dollar,  as  well  as  a 
stitch,  in  time,  saves  nine. 

Herein  lay  the  cardinal  peril  of  Alleghenia. 
As  John  Barclay  had  said,  it  was  not  that 
her  people,  as  a  class,  were  corrupt  or  crimi 
nal,  but  merely  that  they  viewed  with  easy 
tolerance  evidences  of  laxity  and  lawlessness 
which  would  have  set  the  citizens  of  another 
state  by  the  ears,  and  filled  the  newspaper 
columns  and  the  public  forums  with  indigna 
tion  and  protest.  In  this  respect,  the  papers 
of  Kenton  City  were  the  most  flagrant  offend 
ers.  Even  the  most  reputable,  the  "  Sentinel," 
could  be  silenced  at  practicaUy  any  moment 
by  those  cognizant  of  the  method,  and  in  a 
position  to  command  the  price,  of  manipula 
tion.  As  a  whited  sepulchre  it  was  a  con 
spicuous  success,  being  irreproachably  schol 
arly,  dignified,  and  didactic  in  tone,  and 
wholly  destitute  of  principle. 

Michael  McGrath,  demagogue  though  he 
was,  knew  his  public  as  the  physician  knows 
139 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

the  pulse  he  feels.  It  was  a  feature  of  the 
strike  at  the  Rathbawne  Mills  that  no  attempt 
was  made  to  justify  the  cause  of  the  strik 
ers  in  the  eye  of  the  disinterested  public  of 
Kenton  City.  McGrath  himself  was  fully 
alive  to  the  slenderness  of  his  pretext,  and 
alive,  as  well,  to  the  strength  of  Peter  Rath- 
bawne's  case,  if  it  should  come  to  a  discus 
sion  of  the  rights  and  wrongs  involved, 
wherein  his  business  probity  and  his  justice 
to,  and  consideration  for,  his  employees,  would 
furnish  arguments  well  -  nigh  unanswerable. 
He  contented  himself,  therefore,  with  stand 
ing  upon  a  simple  declaration  of  the  will  of 
the  Union,  which  was,  in  effect,  his  own  ;  and, 
strong  in  his  reliance,  if  not  upon  the  sup 
port,  at  least  upon  the  non-interference  of 
the  state  authorities,  devoted  his  attention  to 
holding  the  press  in  check,  by  methods  long 
since  found  effectual,  and  confidently  left  the 
public  to  think  and  act  as  it  saw  fit. 

There  could  have  been  no  more  contemptu 
ous  comment  upon  the  moral  and  intellectual 
status  of  the  community  than  this  insolent 
140 


THE   GOVERNOR  UNMASKS 

assumption  of  its  indifference  to  the  common 
est  principles  of  justice,  but  for  a  time  his 
confidence  had  the  appearance  of  being  amply 
justified.  The  strike  went  its  way,  character 
ized  by  an  infinity  of  petty  outrages  and  a 
constant  and  consistent  vilification  of  Peter 
Rathbawne,  while  — with  the  exception  of  that 
first  and  promptly  quashed  protest  on  the  part 
of  the  press — no  voice  was  raised  in  opposi 
tion. 

Reduced  to  its  lowest  terms,  the  struggle 
was  one  between  Rathbawne  and  McGrath, 
and  that,  not  as  representatives  the  one  of  a 
great  industrial,  the  other  of  a  great  socialistic 
organization,  but  as  individuals.  The  source 
of  the  stream  which  had  thus  reached  its 
rapids,  and  was  plunging  on  toward  its  anni 
hilating  cataract,  lay  far  back  in  the  early 
days  of  Rathbawne' s  commercial  career.  Mc 
Grath  was  a  man  who  practiced  neither  the 
vice  of  forgetfulness  nor  the  virtue  of  for 
giveness.  As  plain  as  the  event  of  a  yesterday 
lay  upon  his  memory  his  contemptuous  dis 
missal  from  Rathbawne's  employ,  charged  in 
141 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

particular  with  a  petty  peculation,  and  in  gen 
eral  with  the  indisputable  fact  of  being  a  bad 
influence  in  the  mills.  His  case  had  been  in 
many  ways  identical  with  that  of  the  men 
whose  cause  he  was  now,  for  reasons  of  his 
own,  espousing. 

But  Peter  Rathbawne,  then  less  shrewd  in  es 
timating  men  than  now,  had  reckoned  without 
due  credit  to  the  vindictiveness  and  pertinacity 
of  the  man  before  him.  McGrath  —  brutally 
handsome  in  those  days,  idle,  insolent,  and  in 
dependent  —  later  had  developed  qualities  of 
which  at  the  time  there  was  little  evidence. 
He  had  smiled  and  shrugged  his  shoulders 
—  a  habit  which  had  grown  upon  him  — 
as  Rathbawne  gave  his  verdict,  and  had  in 
stinctively  resisted  the  temptation  to  threaten 
revenge.  For  that  inspiration  he  had  been 
devoutly  grateful  ever  since.  It  had  enabled 
him  to  work  in  silence  and  unseen,  like  a 
mole,  toward  the  goal  at  which  he  aimed.  He 
was  a  poker  player,  was  Michael  McGrath,  of 
the  class  which  pulls  victory  out  of  defeat  by 
the  aid  of  its  own  personality  and  a  low  pair. 
142 


THE   GOVERNOR  UNMASKS 

The  calm  indifference  with  which  he  had  re 
ceived  his  dismissal  from  the  employ  of  Peter 
Rathbawne  seemed  to  him,  on  reflection,  to 
have  been  the  unconscious  forerunner  of  the 
elaborate  nonchalance  with  which  he  now 
viewed  the  unexpected  filling  of  a  broken 
straight.  It  was  certain  that  the  other  player 
had  not  guessed  the  strength  of  his  cards. 

He  had  never  forgiven,  never  forgotten. 
It  had  taken  a  quarter-century  of  unremitting 
effort,  of  indomitable  perseverance,  of  calcu 
lated  ingenuity,  to  secure  to  him  the  position 
which  he  now  felt  to  be  assured  —  that  of 
being  able  to  cope  with  the  man  who  had 
been  his  adversary,  and  so  overwhelmingly 
his  superior.  The  fight  was  on  at  last,  —  a 
fight  in  which  the  odds  were  not  only  equal, 
but,  if  anything,  in  favor  of  the  former  mill- 
hand,  thus  become  one  of  the  most  powerful 
men  in  Alleghenia ;  a  fight  to  be  fought  to 
the  bitter  finish,  with  an  almost  certain  tri 
umph  as  his  reward. 

Added  to  these  motives  was  another,  — 
newer,  it  is  true,  but  none  the  less  potent, 
143 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

—  his  hatred  for  the  Lieutenant-Governor. 
He  had  been  able  to  laugh  within  a  half- 
minute  after  the  words  "  unmitigated  black 
guard  "  had  smitten  Ms  ears ;  but  they  had 
rankled  for  all  that.  It  was  not  so  much  the 
insult,  as  the  knowledge  that  it  was  justified. 
He  was  remarkably  candid  with  himself,  was 
Michael  McGrath. 

Hence  the  unparalleled  venom  of  the  strike 
at  the  Rathbawne  Mills.  McGrath's  dual 
sense  of  wounded  vanity  prescribed  a  course 
of  surpassing  vindictiveness.  His  personal  re 
sentment,  reinforced  by  consummate  apprecia 
tion  of  the  adversaries  with  whom  he  had  to 
deal,  dictated  a  safe  road  to  revenge,  which 
enabled  him  to  fling  wide  the  floodgates  of 
his  long-stored  animosity,  secure  in  his  know 
ledge  of  having  the  upper  hand.  Disorder, 
calumny,  outrage,  even  open  anarchy  —  he 
could  venture  upon  them  unafraid.  A  corrupt 
Governor,  whom  he  had  created,  stood  behind 
him,  smiling  tolerantly.  An  indifferent  com 
munity  would  let  him  have  his  will.  Only  he 
must  proceed  by  degrees,  and  be  ready  at 
144 


THE  GOVERNOR  UNMASKS 

any  moment  to  take  one  backward  step  for 
the  sake  of  being  able  presently  thereafter  to 
take  t\vo  in  advance. 

Here  precisely  lay  tne  weak  point  in  his 
plan  of  campaign.  With  the  fatuity  inciden 
tal  on  occasions  to  even  the  shrewdest  minds, 
he  had  not  counted  upon  independence  in 
the  host  which  he  believed  slave  to  him, 
in  thought  and  word  and  deed.  He  rated 
himself  the  dictator,  the  prompter  without 
whose  suggestion  no  one  of  all  the  players 
in  this  gigantic  tragedy  could  speak  his  line. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  like  all  leaders  of  his 
class,  he  could  drive  his  followers  forward  at 
will,  while  totally  unable  to  hold  them  back. 
He  was  wholly  master  so  long  as  he  used  the 
spur.  The  peril  lay  in  the  fancied  efficacy  of 
the  curb.  In  short,  he  was  discovering  already 
that  he  had  unwittingly  created  a  monster  be 
side  which  Frankenstein's  was  the  veriest  doll. 

Thus,  shortly,  the  strain  began  to  tell  upon 

the  four  thousand  unemployed  sets  of  nerves 

around  the  Rathbawne  Mills.   Meetings  became 

more  frequent  and  more  turbulent ;   drinking 

145 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

and  disorder  were  observably  on  the  increase ; 
and  at  the  end  of  another  four  weeks  one  of  the 
gates  of  the  mills  was  beaten  down,  and  several 
hundred  men  and  boys  paraded  around  shop 
after  shop,  breaking  windows  and  singing  rib 
ald  songs.  It  was  not  a  very  serious  demonstra 
tion  in  itself.  Its  ominous  feature  lay  in  the 
fact  that  the  police  made  no  attempt  to  check 
it.  There  was  something  else  about  it,  to  the 
thinking  of  McGrath.  It  was  not  so  much 
that  events  were  moving  too  fast,  but  that 
they  were  moving  without  intelligent  control. 

Two  nights  later,  another  building  belong 
ing  to  Peter  Rathbawne,  and  situated  only 
a  half-block  from  the  mills,  was  burned  in 
the  same  manner  as  the  first,  watched  by  an 
enormous  crowd  of  strikers,  who  applauded 
each  fresh  burst  of  flame,  as  if  the  fire  had 
been  a  circus  or  a  play.  Still  there  was  no 
move  on  the  part  of  the  police. 

Then  it  was  that  the  business  men  of  Ken- 
ton  City  sat  up  in  their  office  chairs  and 
began  to  think.  This  was  an  eventuality 
entirely  outside  the  calculations  of  McGrath. 
146 


THE   GOVERNOK   UNMASKS 

But  the  pachydermatous  inertia  of  the  citi 
zens  of  Alleghenia  had  yet  its  vulnerable  spot, 
where  the  weapon  might  enter.  Vaguely 
these  men  had  known  that  the  state  was  rot 
ten,  but  the  fact  had  never  been  brought  to 
their  attention  in  a  manner  so  poignantly 
suggestive  before.  Unwittingly  McGrath  had 
aroused  the  suspicion  that  it  was  not  the  purse 
of  Peter  Rathbawne  alone  which  was  in  dan 
ger.  If  it  was  possible  for  disorder  to  go 
to  such  extremes  in  the  very  streets  of  Ken- 
ton  City  without  fear  of  interference  or  re 
buke,  then  no  man's  property  was  safe.  That 
thought  was  the  Achilles'  heel  of  the  commu 
nity.  So  it  was  that  a  Citizens'  Committee, 
composed  of  presidents  of  two  insurance  com 
panies,  directors  from  five  banks,  representa 
tives  from  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the 
Board  of  Trade,  and,  finally,  Colonel  Amos 
Broadcastle,  was  appointed  to  wait  upon  the 
Mayor.  That  gentleman,  as  was  entirely  to 
be  expected,  referred  them  to  the  Governor, 
and  to  the  Governor  they  went. 

Barclay  was  present  at  the  interview.     For 
147 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

his  own  reasons  Governor  Abbott  had  kept 
his  immediate  subordinate  well  to  the  fore  in 
all  matters  pertaining  to  the  strike  since  the 
latter's  rebuke  to  McGrath,  —  in  all  matters, 
that  is  to  say,  not  involving  the  exercise  of 
actual  authority.  Of  that,  indeed,  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor  had  had  no  hope  after  the 
conversation  in  Peter  Rathbawne's  library. 
He  met  the  representatives  of  the  press,  con 
ducted  the  correspondence  with  mill-owners 
and  other  negatively  interested  parties,  and  at 
the  Governor's  request  made  what  was  pal 
pably  a  farcical  inspection  of  the  entire  state 
militia — to  judge  of  their  readiness  for  strike 
service  !  —  a  task  which  consumed  a  fortnight 
in  constant  travel,  and  visits  to  armories  all 
alike  in  insufficient  equipment  and  utter  sloven 
liness.  The  Ninth  Regiment  alone  remained, 
and  this  command  was  to  parade  for  inspec 
tion  by  the  Governor  himself  that  very 
evening.  The  coincidence  flashed  through 
Barclay's  mind  as  the  Citizens'  Committee 
entered,  with  Broadcastle,  in  his  capacity  as 
spokesman,  at  its  head. 
148 


THE  GOVERNOR  UNMASKS 

The  dignity  and  air  of  command  habitual 
to  the  Colonel  of  the  Ninth  were  doubly  ap 
parent  as  he  advanced  toward  the  Governor's 
table.  Both  Barclay  and  Abbott  rose  to  re 
ceive  him,  but  the  latter  reseated  himself,  as 
soon  as  Broadcastle  had  introduced  his  fellow- 
members  of  the  Committee.  He  listened  to 
what  followed  with  an  air  of  thoughtfulness, 
tinged  with  a  faint  and  exasperating  sugges 
tion  of  amusement.  At  a  neighboring  table, 
his  official  stenographer  took  down  every  word 
which  fell. 

Colonel  Broadcastle  was  not  accustomed  to 
mince  matters,  when  the  occasion  demanded 
brevity  and  conciseness.  Now,  he  stepped  to 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  Governor's  table,  and 
stood  rigidly  confronting  him,  with  his  hands 
clasped  before  him  on  the  head  of  his  stick, 
in  the  position  of  parade-rest. 

"  Governor  Abbott,"  he  said,  in  his  curt, 
dry  voice,  "  these  gentlemen  and  myself  form 
a  Committee  appointed  by  a  meeting  of  the 
business  men  of  Kenton  City,  to  protest 
against  the  state  of  affairs  now  existing  in 
149 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

connection  with  the  strike  at  the  Rathbawne 
Mills.  It  is  only  generous  to  presume  that 
other  matters  have  diverted  your  attention 
from  an  appreciation  of  these  conditions. 
The  situation  is  without  parallel  in  the  an 
nals  of  Alleghenia.  Disorder  is  rampant,  and 
destruction  of  property  is  freely  indulged  in 
by  the  strikers  without  any  apparent  fear  of 
molestation.  Despite  the  fact  that  there  is  a 
large  police-force,  it  makes  no  effort  to  check 
these  operations.  The  sole  reply  of  Chief  Pen- 
die  to  the  protests  of  those  interested  in  the 
promotion  of  law  and  order  has  been  that 
he  will  not  suffer  any  outside  interference  in 
the  control  of  his  department  —  the  which,  in 
view  of  his  responsibility  to  the  public,  can 
only  be  regarded  as  sheer  and  intolerable  in 
solence  !  An  appeal  to  Mayor  Goadby  has 
elicited  the  response  that  the  whole  matter 
lies  in  the  Governor's  hands." 

The  Colonel  paused.  The  Governor,  lean 
ing  back  in  his  chair,  and  fingering  a  pencil, 
smiled  slightly  and  nodded  his  head. 


150 


THE  GOVERNOR  UNMASKS 

"I  suppose  that  is  so,"  he  said.  "Con 
tinue,  continue,  Colonel  Broadcastle." 

"  It  is  the  sense  of  the  law-abiding  element 
of  Kenton  City,"  went  on  the  Colonel,  flush 
ing  at  the  condescension  of  his  tone,  "that  the 
limit  of  endurance  has  been  reached.  If,  will 
fully  or  otherwise,  the  police  do  not  act,  my 
regiment  is  prepared  to  act  as  substitute.  I 
have  already  placed  it  at  the  service  of  the 
Adjutant-General.  His  reply,  like  the  Mayor's, 
was  to  refer  me  to  you  for  orders.  I  am  here 
to  receive  them,  sir." 

"  Your  offer  is  appreciated,"  said  the  Gov 
ernor  suavely.  "We  of  Kenton  City  have 
reason  to  be  proud  of  the  Ninth,  Colonel 
Broadcastle.  I  congratulate  myself  upon  my 
privilege  of  reviewing  it,  to-night.  And  we 
have  reason  to  be  proud,  as  well,  of  the  in 
telligence  which  has  made  such  an  organization 
possible.  Your  disinterested  devotion  "  — 

Broadcastle  flung  up  his  chin. 

"  I  am  not  here  to  receive  compliments, 
sir !  "  he  said  abruptly. 


151 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"Nor  I  to  bestow  them,"  answered  the 
Governor,  unruffled.  "  As  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  state  forces,  I  believe  it  is  not 
outside  my  province  to  render  deserved  com 
mendation  to  a  subordinate." 

"  Oh,  do  not  let  us  juggle  with  words,  Gov 
ernor  Abbott !  It  is  precisely  as  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  state  forces  that  the  time  has 
come  for  you  to  act ;  it  is  precisely  as  your 
subordinate  that  I  am  here  to  receive  your 
orders.  Assume  the  responsibility  which  con 
fronts  you,  issue  the  commands  proper  to  the 
emergency,  and  you  will  have  no  more  tire 
less  executor  of  them  than  I.  My  regiment 
can  be  on  duty  at  the  Rathbawne  Mills  inside 
of  six  hours  "  — 

"  But,  my  good  Colonel  Broadcastle,"  broke 
in  the  Governor,  "  the  state  has  no  need  of 
your  regiment  for  the  moment !  Calling  upon 
the  militia  is  no  light  matter,  sir.  You  talk 
about  my  ordering  out  the  Ninth  as  you 
would  advise  me  to  ring  for  a  messenger-boy !  " 

"  The  welfare  of  the  municipality,  if  not 
that  of  the  commonwealth,"  replied  Colonel 
152 


THE  GOVERNOR  UNMASKS 

Broadcastle  firmly,  "  demands  that  an  imme 
diate  stop  be  put  to  this  lawlessness.  We  are 
dealing  with  extremities,  sir  !  " 

The  Governor  swung  forward,  and  placed 
his  elbows  on  the  table. 

"  You  will  permit  me  to  be  the  best  judge 
of  what  the  welfare  of  the  commonwealth  may 
be,"  he  retorted.  "  Whatever  lawlessness 
exists  —  and  I  think  you  have  grossly  exag 
gerated  its  extent,  Colonel  Broadcastle — is 
due  to  the  selfish  obstinacy  of  one  man.  In 
my  opinion,  Mr.  Rathbawne  is  entirely  in  the 
wrong.  He  had  fair  warning,  which  he  did 
not  choose  to  heed.  If  his  property  suffers 
at  the  hands  of  the  strikers,  he  has  only  him 
self  to  blame." 

"  It  is  not  a  question  of  Mr.  Rathbawne, 
or  of  any  other  individual,"  said  Broadcastle, 
"  but  of  the  integrity  of  the  state  of  Alleghe- 
nia!" 

"  The  integrity  of  the  state  of  Alleghenia," 
answered  the  Governor  dryly,  "has  been  in 
trusted,  by  the  vote  of  her  citizens,  to  me,  as 
chief  executive." 

153 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  An  action,"  exclaimed  the  Colonel, 
"  which  I  venture  to  predict  they  will  shortly 
have  reason  most  bitterly  to  regret !  " 

Governor  Abbott  rose  abruptly  to  his  feet. 

"  This  interview  is  at  an  end,  Colonel 
Broadcastle,"  he  said,  bringing  his  fist  down 
upon  the  table  with  a  thud.  "  I  take  excep 
tion  to  your  "remarks,  from  first  to  last.  I 
consider  myself  fully  competent  to  deal  with 
the  situation,  and  you  may  depend,  sir,  I  shah* 
do  so  at  my  own  time,  and  in  my  own  way. 
If  Mr.  Peter  Rathbawne  supposes  that  he  can 
defy  reason  and  justice  at  will,  and  that  the 
state  authorities  are  prepared  to  support  him, 
he  is  grossly  and  fatally  mistaken.  Gentle 
men,  I  have  the  honor  to  bid  you  good-day  !  " 

For  a  quarter-minute,  the  two  men  stood 
facing  each  other,  without  speaking.  It  was 
observable  that  the  eyes  of  neither  flinched. 
Then- 

"It  is  my  earnest  hope,  Elijah  Abbott," 
said  the  Colonel  slowly,  "  to  see  you  im 
peached  by  a  righteously  indignant  commu 
nity,  and  committed  for  a  term  of  years  to  the 
154 


THE   GOVERNOR  UNMASKS 

State's  Prison  at  Mowberly,  for  rank  malfeas 
ance  in  office  !  " 

The  Governor  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  Your  record  and  your  position  protect 
you,  Colonel  Broadcastle,"  he  said,  with  some 
thing  of  his  usual  suavity.  "  Will  you  have 
the  goodness  to  retire  ?  " 

As  the  Citizens'  Committee  left  the  room 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  turned  on  his  heel, 
passed  into  his  office,  and  closed  the  door. 

For  a  long  time  he  sat  motionless  at  his 
desk,  with  his  temples  in  his  hands,  staring  at 
a  frame  upon  the  opposite  wall,  which  con 
tained  the  emblazoned  arms  of  Alleghenia. 
These  were  a  hand  holding  even  balances, 
upon  a  circular  shield,  supported  by  the  nude 
figures  of  two  young  men,  representing  Art 
and  Labor.  Above,  upon  a  scroll,  were  the 
words,  "  Justitia.  Lex.  Integritas." 

It  was  not  only  bad  heraldry,  but  indif 
ferently  appropriate  symbolism. 


155 


IX 

THE   NINTH   PASSES    IN   REVIEW 

THE  huge  armory  of  the  Ninth,  transformed, 
by  the  same  system  which  had  metamorphosed 
the  personnel  of  the  regiment  itself,  from  a 
gaunt,  barn-like  structure,  ill-fitted  to  its  pur 
pose  in  all  but  size,  to  the  most  cheerful,  as 
well  as  the  most  completely  equipped,  of  Alle- 
ghenian  arsenals,  was  blazing  with  light  and 
echoing  to  the  sound  of  many  voices.  A 
steady  stream  of  people  poured  in  at  the 
heavy  doors,  now  standing  wide,  but  signifi 
cant,  with  their  great  timbers,  elaborate  locks 
and  bolts,  and  precautionary  peep-holes,  of 
the  possibility  of  an  attitude  less  hospitable. 
Threading  their  way  at  a  rapid  pace  through 
the  more  sluggish  main  current  of  the  crowd, 
the  members  of  the  regiment,  in  an  infinite 
variety  of  civilian  attire,  —  from  tweeds  and. 
knickerbockers  to  top-hats  and  evening-dress, 
156 


THE  NINTH  PASSES   IN  KEVIEW 

—  sought  their  respective  company  -  rooms, 
vanished  therein,  and,  presently,  reappeared  in 
uniform.  It  was  as  if  behind  those  ten  doors 
which  lined  the  upper  corridor  there  were 
as  many  moulds,  identical  in  form,  where- 
into  this  perplexing  diversity  of  raw  material 
was  plunged  on  entering,  to  be  drawn  forth 
again  in  a  constant  reduplication  of  militia 
men. 

As  the  hour  for  the  review  drew  near,  the 
proportion  of  these  to  the  throng  with  which 
they  mingled,  perceptibly  increasing,  seemed, 
little  by  little,  to  leaven  the  whole  lump.  The 
dress-uniform  of  the  Ninth  was  everywhere, 
the  black  shakos  and  epaulettes,  white  pom 
pons,  cross-belts  and  gloves,  and  multiplicity 
of  brass  buttons,  lending  the  immense  assem 
blage  a  singular  spirit  and  vivacity. 

On  the  floor  of  the  drill-room  the  people 
spread  in  all  directions,  fan-like,  from  the 
main  doorway,  the  multitudinous  footfalls 
mounting  murmurously  into  the  spaces  of  the 
lofty  roof,  where  forty  arc-lights  hung,  dizzily 
suspended,  pallid  in  the  thin  haze  of  dust 
157 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVEKNOR 

swung  upwards  from  the  hurrying  feet  of  the 
thousands  below. 

"  Precisely  like  an  army  of  ants  —  and 
every  one  of  them  with  an  uncle  or  two,  and 
a  round  dozen  of  nephews  and  nieces ! "  said 
Mrs.  Wynyard. 

She  and  the  Rathbawne  girls  were  looking 
down  upon  the  drill-floor  from  the  balcony 
of  the  Colonel's  room.  Broadcastle  and  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  were  deep  in  conversa 
tion  inside,  having  seized  the  delay  in  the 
arrival  of  Governor  Abbott  as  an  opportunity 
for  a  few  words  in  private. 

"  How  funny  they  are,  scuttling  along,  all 
of  them  !  "  said  Dorothy.  "  And  how  im 
mensely  pleased  the  favored  ones  are,  who 
have  a  soldier  to  show  them  the  way.  I  see  a 
distinct  difference  in  their  walk  from  that  of 
the  others,  don't  you,  Natalie  ?  They  seem 
to  be  saying  '  We  were  invited  —  and  by  this 
splendiferous  creature  at  our  side ! '  See  how 
they  strut !  And  look  at  the  soldierless  ones, 
how  timidly  they  go  —  just  as  if  they  had 
found  their  tickets  in  the  street,  or  had  crept 
158 


THE   NINTH  PASSES   IN  KEVIEW 

in  through  the  basement  windows.  l  Please, 
kind  Mr.  Soldier-man,  let  us  stay  and  see  the 
show.  We  '11  be  awfly  good ! ' 

"  How  preposterous  you  are,  Dorothy !  " 
answered  Mrs.  Wynyard.  "  Look  !  The  peo 
ple  are  taking  to  the  sides  of  the  room  already, 
and  the  companies  are  forming.  What  aston 
ishing  method  and  precision  there  is  to  it  all ! 
Do  you  suppose  each  man  has  a  little  circle 
marked  on  the  floor,  to  show  just  where  he  is 
to  stand?" 

"  I  have  n't  the  most  remote  doubt  of  it," 
said  Natalie,  with  a  smile,  —  "  and  his  name 
neatly  lettered  inside  it  with  gilt  paint !  " 

The  long,  enclosed  racks  at  the  ends  of  the 
drill-room  were  open  now,  and  the  electric 
light  winked  upon  the  barrels  of  the  Spring- 
fields,  as  busy,  white-gloved  hands  plied  the 
polishing  cloths  along  them.  The  enormous 
drill -floor,  cleared  as  if  by  magic  from  the 
disorderly  weed -growth  which  had  encum 
bered  it,  began  to  make  manifest  its  proper 
crop  —  long  lines  of  gray  and  white,  like 
sprouting  sage,  at  first  but  a  dot  here  and 
159 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

there,  to  indicate  the  direction,  then  a  scatter 
ing,  then  distinct  clumps,  finally  a  thick,  ser 
ried  row.  In  the  distance,  a  bugle  sounded, 
followed  by  a  long  ruffle  of  drums,  and  Colo 
nel  Broadcastle  stepped  quickly  to  the  window 
of  the  balcony. 

"There's  the  Governor,"  he  said.  "Will 
you  come  in  ?  I  '11  send  my  orderly  to  show 
you  to  your  seats." 

At  the  same  moment,  the  door  from  the 
corridor  opened,  and  the  orderly  entered,  his 
hand  at  his  shako. 

"  Sir,  the  Governor  has  arrived." 

Then,  as  the  trio  on  the  balcony  stepped  in 
through  the  window,  he  turned  suddenly  and 
superlatively  scarlet.  As  has  been  said,  young 
Nisbet  was  accustomed  to  getting  what  he 
wanted.  In  this  instance  what  he  had  wanted 
happened  to  be  that  the  Adjutant  should 
choose  him  from  the  guard  detail  as  Colonel's 
orderly.  To  be  thus  chosen  was  to  be  admittedly 
the  most  immaculate  of  thirty  men,  all  more 
immaculate  than  a  thousand  immaculate  others. 
The  thing  was  not  easy  of  achievement,  but 
160 


THE  NINTH  PASSES  IN  REVIEW 

Dorothy  Rathbawne  was  to  be  present  at  the 
review,  and  so  —  there  was  no  second  way 
about  it  —  it  simply  had  to  be  done.  Young 
Nisbet's  way  of  doing  it  was  an  absolutely  new 
uniform  and  gold-plated  buttons  and  accoutre 
ments.  Extravagance  ?  Vanity  ?  Perhaps  ! 
But  at  the  present  moment,  he  was  wearing 
one  cross-belt  where  his  thousand  and  odd 
comrades  were  wearing  two.  There  was  no 
answer  to  such  an  argument  as  that. 

Colonel  Broadcastle  had  reserved  seats  for 
the  party  on  the  temporary  reviewing  stand, 
and,  five  minutes  after  they  had  taken  their 
places,  the  bugles  sang  again,  a  curt  order  — 
"  'shun  !  'shun  !  "  —  ran  in  varying  intona 
tions  from  company  to  company,  and  the  slack 
gray  ranks  before  them  stiffened  into  abso 
lute  rigidity.  Then  from  the  broad  hallway 
beyond  came  a  tremendous  burst  of  sound, 
and,  to  the  strains  of  the  famous  old  march  of 
the  Ninth,  the  regimental  band  swung  into 
view,  followed  by  Governor  Abbott  and  Colo 
nel  Broadcastle  and  the  former's  staff. 

To  the  Lieutenant  -  Governor,  but  newly 
161 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

returned  from  his  wearisome  round  of  the 
state  armories,  much  of  what  followed  was 
so  stale  as  to  be  no  more  than  a  constantly 
increasing  strain  upon  nerves  already  over 
taxed.  He  deliberately  allowed  his  attention 
to  wander,  until  he  felt  rather  than  actu 
ally  perceived  the  steady  tramp-tramp  of  the 
men,  swinging,  fours  right,  into  column,  the 
occasional  "  hep  !  hep  !  "  of  an  officious  file- 
closer,  the  endless  succession  of  fours  winking 
past  him,  like  the  palings  of  a  gray  fence 
seen  from  the  window  of  a  train,  the  intervals 
narrowed  by  short-step,  widening  again  at  the 
"  Forward  —  march  !  "  the  blare  of  the  band, 
lessening  as  it  approached  the  further  end  of 
the  building,  then  suddenly  bursting  into  its 
former  volume  at  the  right-about.  He  en 
dured  it  all  listlessly.  It  was  tediously  famil 
iar,  stamped  upon  his  brain  by  repetition  after 
repetition. 

Moreover,  he  was  completely  fagged,  and 
unutterably  oppressed  by  his  burden  of  dis 
couragement.     The  old  wounds,  in  part  healed 
by  his  recent   absence  from   the   immediate 
162 


THE  NINTH  PASSES   IN  KEVIEW 

vicinity  of  his  constant  discomfiture,  had  been 
re-opened  and  set  bleeding  afresh  by  Gover 
nor  Abbott's  treatment  of  the  Citizens'  Com 
mittee.  Whatever  lingering  hope  had  re 
mained  in  his  mind  of  peace  with  honor  for 
the  troubled  capital  of  Alleghenia,  seemed  to 
have  been  effectually  dispelled  by  that  inter 
view.  The  most  enduring  charity,  the  most 
fatuous  credulity,  the  blindest  partisanship  — 
even  these  could  not  have  preserved  a  last 
spark  of  confidence  hi  Elijah  Abbott.  Still 
less  was  Barclay's  indeterminate  hope  of  the 
ultimate  triumph  of  right  able  to  stand  against 
such  crushing  evidence  of  its  instability.  It 
was  no  longer  a  question  of  suspicions,  of 
precedents,  of  deductions  from  the  significance 
of  a  host  of  former  misdoings.  Out  of  his 
own  mouth  was  the  Governor  convicted.  "  At 
my  own  time,  and  in  my  own  way,"  he  had 
said.  It  was  a  phrase,  nothing  more,  and 
could  be  boiled  down  until  its  whole  purport 
was  contained  in  one  word  —  Never  ! 

"  Fours     left  —  March  !       Companee  — 
halt !  " 

163 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

The  entire  regiment,  as  one  man,  swung 
from  column  of  fours  into  battalion  front, 
halted,  and  then  —  cr-r-rick  !  boooo-m-m-m  ! 
—  came  to  order  arms.  The  sides  of  the 
room  were  lined  with  a  solid  rampart  of  white 
and  gray  and  gold.  Barclay  was  aware  of 
the  First  Sergeants,  scurrying  from  their 
positions  to  report,  of  their  voices,  and  those 
of  the  Majors  and  the  Adjutant,  and,  finally 
the  Colonel :  — 

"  Take  your  post,  sir  !  " 

But  his  thoughts  were  anywhere  and  every 
where  else.  What  a  farce  it  all  was,  this  life 
which  he  was  leading,  this  mental  and  moral 
martyrdom  to  an  impossible  hope,  this  eternal 
and  heart-sickening  ordeal  of  hope  deferred, 
this  waiting,  waiting,  waiting,  for  something 
which  never  would  and  never  could  happen  ! 
Rotten,  rotten  to  the  core,  this  state  for  which 
he  would  have  given  his  heart's  blood,  and 
not  only  rotten,  but  not  caring  a  whit  for  her 
rottenness  —  glorying  rather,  in  her  own  de 
gradation.  The  chief  executive  had  flung 
back  into  their  very  faces  the  appeal  to  his 
164 


THE  NINTH  PASSES  IN  EEVIEW 

conscience  of  the  most  influential  men  in 
Kenton  City ;  the  police,  even  now  seated 
about  their  station  stoves,  were  sniggling  at 
the  predicament  of  the  public  which  paid  them 
for  its  protection  against  precisely  the  kind  of 
thing  which  they  openly  tolerated  and  encour 
aged  ;  yes,  and  even  the  militia,  the  guar 
antee  of  law  and  order,  Broadcastle's  own 
command,  were  decked  out  in  tinsel  and  pipe 
clay,  strutting  to  music  in  a  palpable  bid  for 
applause  and  admiration.  And  yonder  — 
the  tide  of  anarchy  was  slowly  but  surely 
rising  about  the  Rathbawne  Mills,  presaging 
riot,  bloodshed,  God  alone  knew  what !  —  but 
one  thing,  inevitably,  —  the  absolute  down 
fall  of  dignity  and  rout  of  decency  in  Alle- 
ghenia  ! 

Suddenly,  his  old  intrepid  spirit  of  resolu 
tion  reasserted  itself,  but  doubtfully,  like  the 
flame  of  a  lamp  flaring  once  out  of  dimness 
before  it  dies  forever.  Was  it  for  this  that 
he  had  devoted  the  best  thought  of  his  youth 
and  his  earlier  manhood  to  plans  for  the  bet 
terment  of  his  state  ?  Should  he  now,  at 
165 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

this,  the  hour  of  her  supremest  political  and 
moral  peril,  desert  her  as  irredeemable,  and 
join  the  ranks  of  those  who  sneered  at  her, 
and  pointed  mocking  fingers  at  her  shame 
and  nakedness? 

"  Your  loquacity  faintly  suggests  that  of  a 
mummy,"  said  Natalie,  at  his  side. 

"  I  was  alone  with  my  thoughts,"  answered 
the  Lieutenant-Governor,  turning  to  her  with 
an  attempt  at  a  smile,  "  and  pretty  black  ones 
they  were,  at  that !  " 

"  Alleghenia  again  ?  " 

"  Alleghenia  again  —  and  always.  This 
business  is  becoming  an  obsession  with  me. 
I  haven't  had  a  chance  to  tell  you,  and  I 
can't  very  well  explain  now.  I  '11  have  to 
leave  it  till  I  see  you  to-morrow.  But  some 
thing  happened  to-day  which  drove  another 
nail  —  and  one  of  the  last !  —  into  the  coffin 
of  my  faith.  There  's  not  a  gleam  of  hope 
anywhere." 

"  Don't  you  see  hope  in  all  this  ?  "  asked 
Natalie,  with  a  little,  indicative  gesture  to 
ward  the  scene  before  them.  "  Somehow, 
166 


THE   NINTH  PASSES   IN   EEVIEW 

it  is  impressing  me  tremendously  to  -  night 

—  more  than  ever  before.     I  seem  to  under 
stand  better  what  it  means,  what  it  stands 
for." 

"  It 's  a  stale  enough  story  with  me,"  said 
Barclay.  "  Remember,  I  've  been  doing  just 
about  nothing  but  watch  this  kind  of  thing 
for  the  past  two  wee'ks.  After  all,  what  does 
it  amount  to  but  a  thousand  possibilities  pa 
rading  like  peacocks  ?  " 

"  How  unlike  you,  that  speech  !  It  amounts 
to  a  vast  deal  more  than  that,  Johnny  boy, 

—  oh,  infinitely  more  !     I  don't  speak  of  the 
other  regiments  you  have  seen.     This  is  dif 
ferent.      Well,   what    does    it    amount    to  ? 
Who  and  what  are  these  thousand  peacocks 
of  yours  ?     Are  n't  they  the  very  flower  of 
Kenton  City,  the  youngest  and  best  blood  in 
our  veins,  gathered  by  one  good  man's  will 
into  an  organization  of  sterling  loyalty,  with 
one  great  aim  in  view,  and  that  the  support 
and  protection  and  preservation  of  all  that  is 
best  in  Alleghenia  ?     The  very  fact  that  such 
a  body  of  men  exists  among  us  is  in  the  na- 

167, 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

ture  of  a  guarantee,  it  seems  to  me,  that  we 
shall  come  out  all  right  in  the  end.  Have 
you  noticed  their  faces  ?  —  many  of  them  so 
absurdly  boyish,  all  of  them  so  honest,  and 
manly,  and  —  and  —  American,  J  ohn  !  They 
are  the  personifications  of  your  ideal  of  that 
afternoon  in  the  library  —  Americans,  and 
something  more  —  Alleghenians !  And,  to 
prove  it,  they  are  freely  giving  a  portion  of 
their  time  and  their  strength,  in  order  that 
there  may  be  at  least  one  thing  in  Kenton 
City  which  is  without  fear  and  without  re 
proach.  I  wonder  —  I  wonder,  John,  whether 
it  is  n't  the  old  story,  after  all :  whether  you 
have  n't  been  wandering  all  over  the  world, 
like  the  prince  in  the  fairy-book,  looking  for 
the  magic  talisman  that  is  to  save  the  state 
you  love,  while,  all  the  time,  it  has  been  lying 
at  your  very  door  ?  Oh,  this  means  some 
thing  —  I  'm  too  stupid  to  interpret  it  as  you 
could  —  but  I  know  it 's  there,  and  that  it 
•would  help  you  and  encourage  you.  Let  me 
try.  Look  there  !  A  single  purpose  animates 
them  all  —  the  maintenance  of  the  standard 
168 


THE  NINTH  PASSES  IN  REVIEW 

which  Colonel  Broadcastle  set  for  them,  and 
the  record  they  have  made  for  themselves." 

Colonel  Broadcastle's  voice  was  sweeping 
the  armory,  as  he  put  the  regiment  through 
the  manual  of  arms. 

"  One  has  only  to  hear  one  of  them  —  Mr. 
Nishet,  for  example  —  say  ( the  Ninth '  to 
find  the  hope  of  which  you  are  in  search. 
These  men  say  it  as  others  say  e  God '  or  '  my 
mother  '  —  as  you  yourself,  Johnny  boy,  say 
<  Alleghenia.' " 

"  Charge  —  lay'n'ta  !  " 

With  a  single  click,  a  thousand  rifles  fell 
into  position,  a  thousand  left  feet  smote  the 
floor  in  unison,  and  the  light  rippled  and 
twinkled  along  a  solid  line  of  flashing  steel. 

"  There !  A  single  voice,  — a  single,  mighty 
response  !  Don't  you  see  the  wonderful  sug- 
gestiveness  of  it  ?  Don't  you  feel  the  pre 
sence  of  the  enormous  reserve  force  which 
lies  behind  all  this?  Oh,  believe  me,  John, 
this  is  a  weapon  too  mighty  to  lie  unused, 
and  too  intelligent  to  be  misused,  if  the  worst 
come  to  the  worst.  After  all,  as  no  one 
169 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

knows  better  than  yourself,  it 's  not  your  own 
advancement  you  're  looking  for,  it 's  that  of 
the  state.  Well,  there  may  be  other  agen 
cies,  perhaps  entirely  independent  of  you  or 
of  your  influence,  but  none  the  less  invalu 
able.  For  example,  you  are  close  upon  de 
spair  —  and  yet,  before  your  fears  come  true, 
the  forces  of  wrong  will  have  to  fight  their 
way,  step  by  step,  through  this  rampart  of 
American  manhood ! " 

Barclay  touched  her  hand  lightly,  as  she 
ceased  speaking.  In  the  midst  of  the  thou 
sands  about  them,  they  were  alone  as  they 
had  never  been  before. 

"  Thank  you,"  he  said  simply.  "  Thank 
you,  littlest  and  wisest  in  the  world  !  " 

The  regiment  was  in  motion  again,  skirting 
the  room  in  column  of  fours,  preparatory  to 
the  march  -  past :  but  now  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  surveyed  it  from  a  new,  and  a  dual 
point  -  of  -  view,  —  as  a  thousand  individuals, 
that  is,  each  a  potential  factor  for  immeasur 
able  good  in  the  coming  rehabilitation  of  the 
state ;  and,  then,  as  a  vast  fighting-machine 
17Q 


THE  NINTH  PASSES  IN  REVIEW 

perfect  in  every  detail,  resistless  and  awe- 
inspiring  in  its  very  integrity.  He  noted  the 
faces  as  they  passed  —  stern,  intelligent  faces, 
young,  for  the  most  part,  and  curiously  re 
fined,  intent  upon  correct  performance  of  the 
present  duty,  and  touched,  almost  without 
exception,  with  an  enthusiasm  born  of  the 
martial  music  and  the  rhythmic  tramp  of  ad 
vancing  feet.  He  saw  the  quick,  reciprocal 
glance  of  the  pivot  and  flank  men,  as  the 
fours,  in  perfect  alignment,  swept  round  into 
company-front ;  the  long,  easy  compression 
and  give  of  the  compact  lines,  acquiring  cor 
rect  adjustment ;  the  rigid  tenure  of  chests 
and  shoulders ;  the  firm  fling  of  slender  gray 
legs,  as  regularly  intervaled  as  the  teeth  of 
a  giant  comb.  Company  by  company,  the 
regiment  fell  into  the  cadence  of  full-step. 
Midway,  the  standards  of  the  Republic  and 
Alleghenia  rippled  side  by  side.  And  so,  with 
blare  of  brass  and  sharp  staccato  of  snare- 
drums,  with  sheen  of  rifles  and  accoutrements, 
with  flash  of  slender  swords,  raised  in  salute, 
—  above  all  and  always,  with  that  magnificent 
171 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

unanimity,  that  mighty  pulse  of  the  thunder 
ous  advance,  the  Ninth  swept  past  its  Gov 
ernor  and  its  Colonel  in  review. 

And  then,  in  an  instant,  as  it  seemed,  the 
vast  square  was  formed  again,  a  sharp  com 
mand  rang  out,  the  rifles  snapped  to  a  present- 
arms,  the  standards  dipped,  and  the  strains 
of  the  "  Star-Spangled  Banner  "  mounted  tri 
umphantly  to  the  great  girders  of  the  lofty 
roof.  The  multitude  of  spectators  rose  at 
the  sound,  and  the  Lieutenant-Governor  rose 
with  them,  his  heart  aglow  with  new  inspira 
tion,  new  hope,  and  new  resolve.  The  band 
was  almost  speaking  the  words  of  the  anthem 
on  the  dust-grayed  air  :  — 

u  Oh  !  say,  does  that  star-spangled  banner  yet  wave 
O'er  the  land  of  the  free,  and  the  home  of  the  brave  ?  " 

To  the  accompaniment  of  a  myriad  clap 
ping  hands,  the  Lieutenant-Governor  resumed 
his  seat,  shaken  by  a  novel,  tremendous  emo 
tion.  Yes  !  a  thousand  times  yes  !  The  star- 
spangled  banner,  symbol  of  loftiest  ideals  and 
purest  purposes,  mute  memorial  and  reminder 
of  devotion  incalculable  and  sacrifice  without 
172 


THE  NINTH  PASSES   IN  KEVIEW 

bound,  guarantee  of  liberty  and  brotherhood, 
mercy,  equality,  and  justice  —  yet  waved  ! 
And,  part  and  indissoluble  portion  of  its  in 
spiring  memories  and  illustrious  destinies,  the 
star  of  Alleghenia  yet  blazed  upon  its  azure 
field  !  He  had  been  living  in  a  world  of  un 
realities,  in  a  valley  of  shadow,  grayed  by 
portents  of  failure  and  despair.  His  eyes 
had  been  narrowed  to  see  the  pitfalls  which 
lined  his  path,  to  the  stumbling-blocks,  the 
briers,  the  indescribable  sordidness  of  his  per 
sonal  position  and  his  immediate  surroundings. 
Now,  he  looked  up  and  horizonward.  The 
thunder-clouds  of  official  depravity  and  dupli 
city  which  darkened  the  way  of  his  endeavor 
—  were  they  able,  after  all,  to  blot  out  the 
memory  of  the  clear,  high  sky  above  ? 

As  this  thought  came  to  him,  it  was  almost 
as  if,  in  actuality,  a  brooding  heaven  had 
been  rent  asunder,  revealing  the  steel-blue  of 
the  infinite  ether  permeated  with  the  supreme 
radiance  of  noon;  and  at  the  incursion  of 
this  illuminating  element  the  host  of  his  dis 
couragements  dwindled  and  disappeared,  like 
173 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

noisome  little  prowlers  of  the  night,  scuttling 
to  cover  at  the  abrupt  break  of  a  tropical 
day.  For  a  moment,  he  strove  to  realize 
whence  the  light  had  come,  and  in  what 
consisted  this  sovereign  ally,  hitherto  uncal- 
culated,  of  his  optimism.  As  he  tracked  his 
thought,  it  led  him  undeviatingly  back  to 
its  direct  inspiration,  the  words  of  Natalie 
Rathbawne. 

"  Before  your  fears  come  true  "  —  she  had 
said. 

Before  his  fears  came  true  —  well,  what  ? 
The  revelation  leaped  at  him  full  and  fair 
now,  and  every  nerve  sang  like  a  taut  wire  in 
answer  to  its  touch.  Before  his  fears  came 
true,  this  wretched  little  world  of  petty  chican 
ery  and  official  corruption  which  surrounded 
and  sickened  him  would  be  wiped  out  of  exist 
ence.  Abbott  —  McGrath  —  their  machina 
tions  and  their  misdeeds  —  their  lies  and  their 
ambitions  —  their  power  and  their  pride,  — 
they  were  newts  that  fouled  a  pool,  gnats  in 
the  sunshine,  cinders  on  the  snow.  Tower 
ing  above  them,  ready,  at  an  instant's  notice, 
174 


THE  NINTH  PASSES  IN  KEVTEW 

to  crush  them  out  of  being,  was  the  rock  of 
ages,  the  righteous  spirit  of  Alleghenia,  inte 
gral  and  indestructible,  illumined  by  the  an 
cient,  undimmed,  and  eternal  sense  of  recti 
tude  inherent  in  the  American  people ! 

Not  by  his  agency,  perhaps  —  perhaps  not 
even  in  his  day,  —  nevertheless  and  infallibly, 
the  right  was  bound  to  conquer  in  the  end. 
The  clear  eyes  and  the  firm  mouths  of  the 
men  of  the  Ninth  spoke  it,  their  rifles,  their 
broad  shoulders,  and  their  precision  confirmed 
and  guaranteed  it,  and  back  of  these  stood 
the  great,  taciturn  figure  of  the  People,  a 
smile  upon  its  calm  and  silent  lips.  When 
those  lips  should  speak,  as  speak  they  would, 
their  words  would  be  the  annihilation  of  Eli 
jah  Abbott  and  of  all  his  kind  ! 

Meanwhile  —  the  bitterness  —  the  disap 
pointments  —  the  humiliations  —  ah,  in  a  mo 
ment,  how  they  had  grown  shrunken,  and 
wizened,  and  old  !  For  out  of  the  radiance 
of  revelation,  as  Christ  of  old  spoke  to  His 
disciples,  so  now  the  spirit  of  Alleghenia 
spoke  to  her  Lieutenant-Governor. 
175 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"What  is  that  to  thee?  Follow  thou 
Me!" 

Like  a  woman,  the  spirit  of  her  cried  unto 
him,  and,  like  a  man,  the  spirit  of  John  Bar 
clay  answered. 


176 


A   QUESTION   AND   AN   ANSWER 

MUCH  to  Barclay's  satisfaction,  Cavendish 
had  obtained  his  appointment  as  a  city  reporter 
on  the  staff  of  the  "  Sentinel."  Even  the 
first  week  of  the  new  life  thus  entered  upon 
had  produced  a  vast  change  in  his  manner  and 
appearance.  Though  the  Lieutenant-Gov 
ernor  had  seen  him  but  once,  when  he  came 
to  repay  the  loan  made  him  —  in  itself,  of  all 
signs  of  restoration  to  a  normal  attitude,  the 
most  significant  —  he  found  that  his  com 
plexion  had  cleared  and  softened,  and  his  eye 
perceptibly  brightened.  He  was  clean-shaven 
once  more,  and  his  dress,  while  of  strict  sim 
plicity,  was  yet  suggestive  of  the  old  days 
when  he  had  been  called  the  most  fastid 
ious  man  in  Kenton  City.  He  held  himself 
straighter,  too,  with  his  shoulders  thrown  back 
and  his  head  up ;  and  Barclay  had  noted,  with 
177 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

quiet  gratification,  that  there  was  not  a  tremor 
about  the  hands  which  unfolded  and  smoothed 
the  bills  he  had  come  to  return.  One  evi 
dence  alone  remained  of  the  desperate  ordeal 
through  which  he  had  passed.  His  voice, 
formerly  firm  and  vibrant  with  a  spirit  that 
was  half  gayety,  half  arrogance,  was  now  in 
describably  modulated,  and  touched  with  a 
melancholy  which  was  not  that  of  servility, 
still  less  of  shame.  Rather,  it  was  an  unspeak 
ably  appealing  regret,  a  monotonous  listless- 
ness,  a  suggestion  of  hopeless  surrender  to 
something  tragic  and  inevitable.  Barclay  was 
puzzled  by  it.  It  seemed  illogical,  and  evaded 
him,  like  a  melody  with  a  dimly  familiar  motif 
which  he  was  unable  to  place  or  even  fully 
recall.  It  haunted  him  singularly,  when  Cav 
endish  had  left,  and  afterwards,  in  his  leisure 
moments,  came  back  to  him,  striving,  as  he 
fancied,  to  make  itself  understood.  Intimately 
candid  as  their  recent  relation  had  been,  here 
was  something  unexplained,  which  he  could 
not  come  at,  and  which  was  yet  eloquent  of 
vitality,  of  the  need  of  comprehension. 
178 


A  QUESTION  AND  AN  ANSWER 

Since  that  time,  three  weeks  before,  the  two 
men  had  not  met.  For  this  there  were  several 
reasons.  Barclay  knew  from  a  brief  note  that 
Cavendish  had  taken  a  small  room  in  a  board 
ing-house,  not  far  from  the  "  Buckingham," 
and  that  the  pressure  of  his  work  for  the 
"  Sentinel "  set  him  afoot  so  early,  and  sent  him 
home  at  night  so  brain  and  body  weary,  that 
he  had  neither  the  strength  nor  the  inclina 
tion  for  other  things.  Added  to  this,  had 
been  the  Lieutenant-Governor's  absorption  in 
his  own  duties,  and,  in  particular,  his  absence 
from  Kenton  City,  on  his  round  of  inspection 
of  the  state  militia.  But,  just  before  the  din 
ner  hour,  on  the  evening  following  that  of 
the  review,  Cavendish  called,  as  Barclay  was 
in  the  act  of  dressing. 

"  I  had  a  suspicion  I  'd  catch  you  just  about 
this  time,"  he  said,  dragging  a  chair  to  the 
doOr  of  the  bedroom,  where  he  could  watch 
the  Lieutenant-Governor  struggling  with  a 
refractory  white  tie.  "  I  'm  getting  on  fa 
mously,  and  I  wanted  you  to  know  it." 

"  That 's  right !  "  said  Barclay,  scowling 
179 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

into  the  mirror.  "  But  then,  I  knew  you 
would.  Your  pessimism  did  n't  produce  much 
effect  on  me.  I  've  heard  men  talk  like  that 
before.  And,  of  course,  when  a  chap  gets 
into  the  condition  you  were  in,  back  there, 
there 's  no  such  thing  as  making  him  believe 
he  can  ever  pull  out.  You  talked  like  an  ass, 
that  first  night,  Spencer." 

"  And  acted  like  a  blackguard  !  I  suppose 
you  will  allow  me  to  refer  to  that  now  ?  " 

"  Now  less  than  ever,  my  good  sir.  As 
I  've  told  you  already,  all  that  belongs  to  the 
past.  You  're  yourself  again.  What 's  the 
use  of  dwelling  on  a  time  gone  by,  when  you 
were  in  reality  somebody  else  —  or,  rather, 
nobody  at  all  ?  When  are  you  going  to  call 
at  the  Bathbawnes'  ?  The  old  man  is  pretty 
ill,  I  'm  afraid,  but  I  think  the  rest  would 
like  to  see  you  again.  They  were  speaking 
of  you  only  the  other  day  —  that  is,  one  of 
them  was ! " 

"  Not  till  this  strike  trouble  is  over,  at  all 
events;  they  have  all  they  can  attend  to  at 
present,  without  being  bothered  by  reformed 
180 


A  QUESTION   AND  AN  ANSWER 

drunkards.  And  perhaps  I  sha'n't  call  at  all. 
I  have  n't  decided  yet  what  would  be  best." 

Then,  before  Barclay  had  time  to  speak, 
he  added :  — 

"  By  the  way,  I  'm  to  take  up  the  strike 
to-morrow,  for  the  '  Sentinel.' ' 

"Are  you?"  exclaimed  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  in  a  tone  of  the  liveliest  interest. 
"  That 's  good  news.  It  must  be  about  the 
most  important  assignment  they  could  give 
you,  just  now.  Well,  I  wonder  if  you  are 
destined  to  be  the  only  conscientious  reporter 
in  Kenton  City,  or  whether  you  will  simply 
be  like  all  the  rest.  Are  you  going  to  have 
the  courage  of  your  convictions  —  which  I 
think  I  can  surmise,  though  you  have  n't  as 
yet  confided  them  to  me  —  or  are  you  going 
to  wear  the  slave-chains  of  your  fellows,  and 
distort,  and  misrepresent,  and  truckle  and 
kow-tow  to  the  policy  of  the  most  venal  press 
in  America?" 

"  On  fait  ce  qu'on  petit,"  said  Cavendish, 
with  a  shrug.  "  Orders  are  orders,  John.  If 
the  orders  of  the  editor  don't  go,  the  orders 
181 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

on  the  cashier  don't  come.  That 's  about  all 
there  is  to  it.  It  would  be  rather  futile  to 
attempt  the  Don  Quixote  act,  if  only  for  the 
reason  that  one  would  never  get  into  print. 
One  can't  do  more  than  follow  instructions. 
The  reporter's  best  policy  is  his  paper's  best 
honesty." 

"  Honesty  ?  "  repeated  the  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor.  "  Where  does  the  honesty  come  in  ? 
Of  course  I  understand  your  position.  In  a 
way,  it  is  identical  with  mine  —  subservience 
to  a  principle  that  you  despise,  acquiescence 
in  methods  that  you  know  to  be  utterly  false 
and  wrong  !  How  sick  I  am  of  it  all !  It 's 
the  old  experience,  all  over  again,  which  I 
used  to  have  as  a  child  with  the  Tom  Smith 
paper  crackers.  You  are  fascinated  by  the 
tinsel,  and  the  colored  paper,  and  the  gaudy 
label.  You  think  that  when  you  've  dissected 
one,  and  pulled  it  all  to  pieces,  you  '11  find 
a  bugle  and  a  gold  crown  inside  —  because 
that 's  what  it  says  on  the  box.  But,  the  first 
thing  you  know,  you  '11  find  yourself  blowing 
on  a  tin  whistle  and  wearing  a  fool's  cap  of 
182 


A  QUESTION  AND  AN  ANSWER 

green  paper  !  Lord !  how  the  press  of  Kenton 
City  needs  a  man  —  a  man  with  the  courage 
and  the  power  to  show  up  the  scoundrels  who 
are  responsible  for  all  this —  McGrath  and  his 
associates,  I  mean.  I  'm  sick  and  tired  of 
reporters  whose  rascality  is  self-evident,  of 
editors  who  are  bought  and  sold  like  chattels, 
of  a  state  of  affairs,  in  general,  so  infamous  as 
to  surpass  expression !  You  have  my  sym 
pathy,  Spencer  —  the  sympathy  of  a  fellow- 
victim.  To  be  a  reporter  on  a  newspaper 
which  dictates  dishonesty ;  to  be  the  lieutenant 
of  a  Governor  who  enjoins  duplicity  —  it 's  all 
just  about  one  and  the  same  thing  !  " 

"  It  's  curious,"  commented  Cavendish, 
"that  it  was  n't  until  about  a  week  after 
—  after  that  night,  that  I  knew  you  were 
Lieutenant-Governor.  Then,  your  name  hap 
pened  to  be  mentioned  in  the  office,  and 
somebody  asked  me  if  I  knew  you." 

"Whereupon,"    said   Barclay,   conquering 
the  tie  at  last,  and  turning  from  the  mirror, 
"you  had  the  inexpressible   privilege  of  say 
ing  that  you  knew  me  intimately." 
183 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  Whereupon,"  repeated  Cavendish,  in  that 
so  singular  tone  which  had  lain  heavy  upon 
the  other's  memory,  "  I  had  the  inexpressible 
privilege  of  saying  that  I  used  to  know  you, 
but  that  we  had  quarreled,  and  were  now  — 
strangers." 

"  Why  ?  "  demanded  the  Lieutenant-Gov 
ernor,  wheeling  abruptly  upon  him.  "  What 
possessed  you  to  say  such  a  silly  thing  as 
that?" 

Cavendish  leaned  forward  in  his  chair,  with 
his  elbows  on  his  knees,  and  his  forehead 
against  his  interlaced  fingers,  staring  at  the 
floor. 

"  I  'm  glad,  in  a  way,  to  have  you  ask  that 
question,"  he  said  slowly.  "  We  are  wary 
of  mock  heroics,  or  even  real  heroics,  men 
like  you  and  me.  And  yet  there  are  things 
which  must  be  explained,  things  not  easy  to 
explain,  because  they  come  so  close  at  times 
to  melodrama.  I  Ve  always  had  a  horror 
of  emotional  situations  ;  and,  from  what  I 
know  of  you,  I  'm  sure  you  have,  as  well.  I  'd 
avoid  this  explanation,  if  I  could  —  indeed, 
184 


A   QUESTION  AND  AN  ANSWER 

I  've  deliberately  avoided  it,  thus  far.  Yet 
if  I  were  a  Romanist  in  the  presence  of  my 
priest,  I  think  I  should  feel  more  at  liberty 
to  evade  confession  than  I  do  now.  For  both 
our  sakes,  I  '11  try  to  be  as  brief,  as  simple,  as 
lucid,  as  I  can.  And  I  '11  trust  you  to  under 
stand,  as  well  as  may  be.  Don't  think  there  's 
any  pose,  any  aim  at  effect,  in  what  I  'm  going 
to  say.  You  've  asked  me  a  question,  and 
I  'm  going  to  answer  it,  that 's  all !  I  don't 
think,  in  my  present  frame  of  mind,  I  could 
bear  to  have  you  entertain  the  suspicion  that 
the  answer  was  affected  or  lacking  in  can 
dor.  Allans  !  Already  I  'm  growing  too  ver 
bose  ! " 

He  looked  up  with  a  wan  smile. 

"  Let  's  get  down  to  facts.  You  ask  me 
why  I  told  my  questioner  that  we  no  longer 
knew  each  other.  Well,  then,  let 's  have  at  it ! 
It  was  because,  John  Barclay,  there  is  likely 
—  no,  there  is  sure  —  to  come  a  time  when 
you  won't  care  to  acknowledge  me  as  your 
friend.  Oh,  wait ! "  he  added,  as  the  Lieu- 
teuant-Governor  held  up  his  hand  in  protest. 
185 


.     THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  Hear  me  out.  You  say  I  talked  like  an  ass, 
that  first  night.  Perhaps.  But  the  fact  re 
mains  that  I  've  been  a  drunkard  —  and  that 
I  'm  bound  to  be  one  again  !  I  've  been 
fighting  against  temptation  for  several  weeks. 
It  has  n't  been  very  strong,  for  some  reason, 
and  so  I  've  managed  to  ground  it  so  far. 
But  you  remember  the  chap  with  whom  old 
Hercules  wrestled?  Every  time  he  touched 
earth  his  strength  was  multiplied.  Well,  that 's 
the  way  with  drink.  I  can  throw  the  temp 
tation  for  a  while,  but  every  time  I  do  so  it 
rises,  stronger  many-fold.  Sooner  or  later, 
I  'm  forced  to  give  in.  I  know  it,  as  I  know 
I  'm  sitting  here.  I  'm  doing  my  best  now, 
because,  in  the  future,  when  the  wrong  that 
for  a  time  you  've  righted  goes  wrong  again, 
I  want  you  to  remember  that  I  made  the 
effort  —  for  you  —  and  for  her  —  for  the 
Fairy  Princess.  The  end  is  as  plain  as  day ! 
It  was  born  in  me,  this.  I  think  I  've  never 
told  you  that  my  father  died  of  it,  but  that 's 
the  truth.  And  the  next  time  I  drop,  it  will 
be  for  good  and  all.  I  shall  never  make 
186 


A  QUESTION  AND  AN  ANSWER 

another  effort  to  conquer  the  inevitable.  If  I 
can't  do  it  now,  with  the  hope  of  redemption 
thus  made  plain,  with  a  new  start,  and  a  fresh 
chance,  and  —  thanks  to  you,  John  —  the 
past  wiped  off  the  slate  and  a  new  sum  set  to 
solve,  with  the  incentive  of  your  friendship 
and  confidence,  and  the  interest,  so  unde 
served,  of  the  Fairy  Princess,  into  the  bar 
gain,  —  if  I  can't  do  it  now,  I  say,  why  surely 
I  can  never  do  it.  John,  you  can't  know 
what  I  've  been  through.  You,  who  've  never 
had  the  temptation,  can't  conceive  of  what  it 
means.  It's  a  living  actuality,  this  lust  for 
drink.  When  your  nerves  go  wrong,  even 
at  the  end  of  a  day,  or  a  week,  or  a  year, 
during  which  you  've  kept  straight,  when 
you  're  tired,  discouraged,  and,  above  all, 
alone  !  —  then  it  comes  at  you  like  a  live 
thing,  —  speaks  —  grips  your  arm  — .drags 
you  wherever  it  wills  !  I  've  laughed  at  it, 
scoffed  at  it,  in  its  absence,  tried  to  make 
myself  believe  it  a  fragment  of  an  otherwise 
forgotten  dream,  many  and  many  and  many  a 
time.  But  it  always  came  back  !  Oh,  John 
187 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

Barclay,  you  others  will  never  understand ! 
A  man  has  to  have  been  through  it,  in  order 
to  know,  and  that  not  once,  but,  as  I  have,  a 
hundred  times." 

"  I  can  well  believe  it  to  be  a  tremendous 
temptation,"  said  the  Lieutenant  -  Governor 
gravely. 

"  Temptation  ?  It 's  more  than  that !  A 
temptation  gives  you  some  chance,  does  n't 
it  ?  You  may  yield  to  it,  but,  at  least,  you  've 
had  your  fighting-chance.  Well,  in  that  sense, 
this  is  no  temptation,  though  I  've  been  using 
the  word  myself  to  describe  it.  Why,  John, 
it 's  madness,  sheer  insanity.  You  probably 
remember  that  I  never  used  to  touch  alcohol 
at  all.  I  promised  my  poor  mother  to  let  it 
alone  until  I  reached  my  majority.  Of  course, 
I  did  n't  realize  about  the  dear  old  man ;  he 
died  when  I  was  too  young  for  that.  But 
her  one  great  fear,  and  naturally,  was  that 
the  curse  had  descended  to  me  —  just  as  it 
had  !  Well,  I  stuck  to  my  promise  till  I  was 
twenty-one,  and  kept  along  in  the  same  way 
for  some  time  afterwards,  just  because  there 
188 


A  QUESTION  AND  AN  ANSWER 

did  n't  seem  to  be  any  particularly  good  reason 
for  taking  up  something  which  I  had  man 
aged  to  get  along  very  well  without,  all  my 
life.  Then  came  that  time,  you  know  —  three 
years  ago  —  and  out  of  mere  recklessness, 
bravado,  God  knows  what,  I  began  to  drink. 
John,  I  was  a  doomed  man  from  the  first 
swallow !  That  demon  had  been  hiding  in 
side  me,  without  sound  or  movement  or  other 
hint  of  his  presence,  for  twenty-eight  years  — 
just  waiting  his  chance  !  You  know  the  rest. 
The  fight  has  been  going  on  ever  since,  and 
the  thing  has  beaten  every  time.  I  've  re 
sisted.  I  've  struggled.  I  've  even  prayed. 
It 's  all  useless." 

He  pointed  significantly  to  the  curtain 
which  hung  where  the  door  of  the  wine-closet 
had  been. 

"  As  I  did  that  night,"  he  continued,  "  I 
shall  do  again,  and  still  again,  until  the  end. 
It 's  insanity,  nothing  more  or  less.  It  lurks 
at  the  back  of  my  brain  —  always  —  always 
—  and  then,  suddenly,  when  I  am  least  ex 
pecting  it,  it  comes  forward  with  a  rush,  and 
189 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

I  might  as  well  try  to  check  the  north  wind 
or  the  incoming  tide.  I  feel  it  tingling  in 
my  fingers,  scorching  my  throat,  tearing  at 
my  reason.  I  swear  I  won't  give  in,  and,  in 
the  very  act  of  so  swearing,  I  get  up  and  go 
out  to  meet  it.  I  could  break  down  iron 
doors  to  get  at  the  drink  when  it  calls  to  me. 
And,  though  I  seem  to  be  going  straight 
enough  now,  the  moment  is  coming  when  it 
will  call  and  when  I  shall  obey !  Then  you 
won't  want  to  think  you  've  ever  known  me, 
John  Barclay,  still  less  to  remember  that  the 
name  of  the  Fairy  Princess  has  passed  be 
tween  us.  And,  in  the  midst  of  my  damna 
tion,  it  will  be  a  drop  of  cold  water  on  my 
tongue  to  know  that  I  've  left  you  a  loop 
hole  through  which  to  escape  the  acknow 
ledgment  of  these  last  few  weeks.  So  far,  no 
one  but  the  '  Rockingham '  people,  and  Pay- 
son,  and — and  the  Fairy  Princess  — know  that 
we  've  been  together  recently.  The  '  Rock 
ingham'  people  don't  even  know  my  name. 
Payson  won't  speak.  And  she  certainly  won't. 
So  far,  so  good.  Further,  I  've  come  to  say 
190 


A  QUESTION  AND  AN  ANSWER 

good-by.  Hereafter,  we  must  n't  see  each 
other  "  — 

"  Stop  —  stop  !  "  broke  in  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor.  "  What  is  all  this  rot  you  're 
talking?  Chuck  it,  will  you?  Look  here! 
If  you  go  back  on  me  —  which  is  bad  —  and 
on  your  Fairy  Princess  —  which  is  worse  — 
and  on  yourself  —  which  is  the  worst  of 
all"- 

"Yes,  yes,"  answered  Cavendish,  "that's 
all  true.  But  I  'm  not  talking  about  if  I  go 
back,  I  'm  talking  about  when  I  go  back ! 
As  I  said  when  I  began,  there  's  no  use  try 
ing  to  explain  this  thing  to  a  man  who  does 
n't  understand  it,  and  no  man  can  understand 
it  except  through  his  own  experience.  In 
this  respect,  if  in  no  other,  you  and  I  talk 
different  languages,  belong  on  different  plan 
ets.  Could  I  expect  you  to  comprehend  with 
me  that  first  give  of  self-control  which  lets 
the  demon  loose,  and  the  meaning  of  the 
sight  or  smell  of  drink  at  that  exact  moment 
when  the  will  is  weakest  —  the  first  glass, 
hastily  swallowed,  as  a  brute,  long  thirsty, 
191 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

gulps  down  the  water  it  has  craved — the  sec 
ond  and  third,  taken  more  slowly  —  and 
then,  that  slackening  of  every  nerve,  that 
jettisoning  of  all  the  moral  cargo,  that  sud 
den  love  and  appreciation  of  the  sensuous 
side  of  lif e  ?  Don't  you  see  ?  It 's  another 
world,  that,  which  you  simply  can't  under 
stand,  unless  you  travel  to  it  by  the  road  by 
which  I  have  come  —  which  God  forbid !  " 

"  In  all  this,"  said  Barclay,  "  I  can  see  no 
reason  why  our  present  friendship  should  not 
continue,  and  should  not  be  known." 

"  Simply  this,"  answered  Cavendish  :  "  I  'm 
— nothing!  You  're  the  Lieutenant-Go vernor, 
—  who  is  spoken  of,  if  you  care  to  know  it,  in 
the  office  of  the  '  Sentinel '  as  the  only  hon 
est  official  in  the  state  of  Alleghenia.  You 
must  n't  tie  up  to  me,  nor  I  to  you.  I  've 
told  you  what  my  end  is  going  to  be.  You 
don't  believe  it,  perhaps,  but  it 's  none  the  less 
true.  And  yours — do  you  know  that  the  law- 
abiding  element  looks  up  to  you  as  a  kind 
of  Messiah  ?  Do  you  know  that  you  are  the 
dawn  of  honor  and  integrity  which  lies  behind 
192 


A  QUESTION  AND  AN  ANSWER 

the  present  black  cloud  of  lawlessness?  I 
tell  you,  John,  the  promise  of  your  future  is 
such  as  might  nerve  a  beaten  Napoleon  to 
renewed  endeavor.  In  your  hands  lies  the 
salvation  of  the  state." 

"I  wish  I  could  think  so,"  said  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor.  "  God  knows  I  'd  willingly 
cut  one  of  them  off,  if  I  thought  its  loss 
could  benefit  the  commonwealth.  But,  as 
I  've  had  occasion  to  say  to  others,  in  the 
present  emergency  I  'm  as  helpless  as  a  babe 
unborn.  You  see  how  things  are  going  — 
one  might  as  well  appeal,  so  far  as  any  hope 
of  success  is  concerned,  to  McGrath  himself 
as  to  Governor  Abbott.  There  's  no  getting 
around  it,  Spencer.  It 's  a  declaration  of  an 
archy  pure  and  simple,  and  with  the  official 
seal  of  Alleghenia  at  the  bottom  of  the  docu 
ment.  Iniquitous  wrong  is  being  done,  not 
only  to  Mr.  Rathbawne  in  refusing  him  the 
protection  of  the  law  to  which  he  is  entitled, 
but  to  the  cause  of  the  strikers  themselves,  if 
they  can  justly  be  said  to  have  a  cause.  No 
thing  ever  was  or  ever  will  be  gained  for  the 
193 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

benefit  of  the  many  by  the  violence  of  the 
few.  It  can  only  end  in  one  way  :  by  the  in 
terposition  of  the  federal  troops.  You  know 
what  happened  at  Chicago.  It  will  be  the 
same  thing  here ;  and  before  it  is  over  we 
shall  see  people  shot  down  like  rats  in  the 
streets  of  Kenton  City." 

"  I  hope  it  won't  come  to  that,"  said  Cav 
endish;  "but  even  so,  all's  well  that  ends 
well.  Provided  that  order  is  finally  re 
stored  "  — 

"  But  what  credit  is  it,"  broke  in  Barclay, 
"  to  the  state  of  Alleghenia  to  have  her  law 
breakers  suppressed  by  the  national  govern 
ment  ?  Don't  you  see  that  it  would  be  only 
a  final  proof  that  she  is  too  incompetent  or 
too  indifferent  to  do  it  herself  ?  From  the 
point  of  view  of  the  state's  good  name,  I 
doubt  which  is  worst,  her  present  attitude  or 
the  interference  of  federal  force." 

"  Will  it  come  to  the  latter  in  any  event  ?  " 

"  Undoubtedly.  They  've  already  tried  to 
prevent  the  delivery  of  Mr.  Rathbawne's  mail, 
both  at  the  mills  and  at  his  house.  You 
194 


A  QUESTION  AND  AN  ANSWER 

know  what  that  means,  don't  you  ?  One  car 
rier  interfered  with  in  the  performance  of  his 
duty  is  sufficient  excuse  for  mobilizing  a 
brigade." 

"  But  the  Governor  "  — 

Barclay  came  forward,  laid  his  hand  on 
Cavendish's  shoulder,  and  looked  down  at 
him,  slowly  nodding  his  head. 

"  The  Governor  of  Alleghenia  is  a  dyed- 
in-the-wool  scoundrel,  my  good  sir,"  he  said. 
"  It  is  his  manifest  duty  to  enforce  the  law 
rigidly  and  at  once,  and  if  the  police  of  Ken- 
ton  City  cannot  or  will  not  assist  him,  to  sum 
mon  the  militia  to  his  aid.  In  that  way  only 
can  the  honor  of  Alleghenia  be  saved.  And 
that  is  what  Elijah  Abbott  will  never  do. 
There  is  anarchy  open  and  flagrant  in  the 
streets  of  Kenton  City  —  there  is  anarchy 
silent  and  sneering  in  the  Governor's  chair. 
God  save  the  state  !  " 


195 


XI 

YOUNG   NISBET   FINDS    HIS   TONGUE 

"  I  HAVE  promised  to  marry  Colonel  Broad- 
castle,"  announced  Mrs.  Wynyard  when  the 
silence  had  lasted  twenty  minutes. 

Dorothy  flung  round  from  the  window 
against  which  she  had  been  mercilessly  press 
ing  her  pretty  nose. 

"  Why,  Aunt  Helen ! "  she  exclaimed. 
"  You  really  are  the  most  startlingly  abrupt 
person  I  ever  knew.  Are  you  in  earnest  ? 
What  under  the  sun  possessed  you  to  do 
that?" 

"  I  think  it  must  have  been  Colonel  Broad- 
castle,"  answered  Mrs.  Wynyard,  with  an  air 
of  reflection.  "  It  was  last  night  when  he  was 
showing  us  over  the  armory,  after  the  review. 
He  not  only  asked  me,  but  appeared  to  have 
quite  set  his  heart  upon  my  giving  him  an 
affirmative  answer.  And  he  had  been  so  ex- 
196 


YOUNG  NISBET  FINDS  HIS  TONGUE 

tremely  civil,  Dorothy,  about  our  seats  and 
all  that,  that  I  thought  it  would  seem  rather 
ungracious  to  refuse  the  first  favor  he  had 
ever  asked  of  me.  So  I  said  yes." 

"  Aunt  Helen,  Aunt  Helen  !  One  of  these 
fine  days  you  will  be  the  death  of  me.  Did 
any  one  ever  hear  of  such  a  reason  for  accept 
ing  a  man  ?  " 

"  I  could  n't  think  of  a  better  one  for  re 
fusing  him,"  said  Mrs.  Wynyard  serenely. 
"  So  there  you  are !  " 

"  Talk  about  logic  !  "  said  Dorothy.  She 
came  across  the  room,  and  seated  herself  be 
side  her  aunt.  "  I  never  heard  anything  so 
exciting  in  my  life  !  "  she  added.  "  Do  you 
really  mean  it?  Are  you  really  going  to 
marry  him  ?  " 

"  That  is  the  arrangement,  as  I  understand 
it,"  replied  Mrs.  Wynyard.  "  Of  course,  I 
have  n't  his  promise  in  writing,  but  I  think  I 
can  trust  him.  I  once  looked  him  up  in  your 
father's  business  guide,  and  he  had  three  A's 
after  his  name.  I  'm  sure  I  don't  know  what 
they  can  stand  for,  if  it 's  not  Acquaintance, 
197 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

Appeal,  and  Acceptance.  I  don't  really  see 
what  else  I  could  have  done.  It  seems  to 
have  all  been  arranged  without  consulting  me 
at  all.  One  can't  very  well  set  one's  self 
up  in  opposition  to  a  business  guide,  you 
know." 

"  But  he 's  old  enough  to  be  your  father, 
Aunt  Helen ! " 

"  That 's  precisely  the  reason  why  there 
would  n't  have  been  any  sense  in  my  promis 
ing  to  be  a  sister  to  him.  You  see,  I  was 
quite  helpless  in  the  matter  from  start  to 
finish." 

"  And  it  was  only  last  night  that  you 
called  me  preposterous ! "  laughed  Dorothy. 
"Really,  Aunt  Helen,  people  who  live  in 
glass  houses  shouldn't  throw  stones.  I  think 
you  are  the  most  absurd  creature  in  the  world. 
Do  you  love  him  ?  " 

"  I  can  even  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  I 
think  I  do,"  said  Mrs.  Wynyard,  without  a 
break  in  her  gravity.  "  I  have  all  the  symp 
toms, —  palpitation  of  the  heart,  a  morbid 
craving  for  Shelley  and  chocolate  caramels,  a 
198 


YOUNG  NISBET  FINDS  HIS   TONGUE 

tendency  to  wake  up  singing,  and  a  failing 
for  flattening  my  nose  against  the  window- 
pane  for  twenty  minutes  at  a  stretch  without 
saying  a  word  to  my  poor  old  aunt,  on  the 
mere  chance  that  he  may  be  coming  down  the 
avenue." 

The  blush  which  Dorothy  paid  as  tribute  to 
this  subtle  innuendo  came  near  to  rivaling 
one  of  young  Nisbet's  celebrated  performances 
in  the  same  line. 

"  You  're  making  fun  of  me,"  she  said  re 
proachfully. 

"  I,  my  dear  ?  —  not  the  least  in  the  world. 
It 's  all  as  true  as  the  gospel  according  to  St. 
Valentine.  I  've  told  you  first  because  we  're 
not  only  aunt  and  niece,  but  the  very  best 
friends  possible  besides,  and  I  knew  you  would 
like  to  hear  the  news  before  any  one  else. 
Colonel  Broadcastle  is  by  all  odds  the  finest 
man  I  know,  —  I  won't  even  except  John 
Barclay,  much  as  I  admire  him.  He  has  paid 
me  a  very  great  honor.  I  respect  him  tre 
mendously  ;  I  trust  him  absolutely.  These 
alone  are  good  reasons ;  but  there 's  a  better 
199 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

one,  —  so  much  better  that  nothing  else  really 
has  any  bearing  on  the  subject.  Can  you 
guess  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Dorothy  softly,  "you  just  love 
him.  Is  n't  that  it?" 

"  Exactly.  It 's  a  curious  thing,  this  love. 
There  may  be  every  reason  why  one  should 
marry  a  man,  his  own  wish  included,  and  yet 
one  doesn't.  There  may  be  no  reason  at  all, 
so  far  as  outsiders  can  see,  and  yet  one  does ! 
I  've  known  a  woman  to  throw  over  one  suitor 
who  had  everything  in  his  favor  —  money, 
character,  position  —  and  accept  another  who 
had  none  of  these  advantages  —  because  she 
liked  the  way  he  parted  his  hair !  That 's  the 
way  it  goes.  It 's  the  most  illogical  thing  in 
the  world,  if  we  except  the  stock  market  and 
other  women's  gowns.  And  then,  when  it 's 
all  arranged,  his  friends  wonder  what  she 
could  have  seen  in  him,  and  her  friends  what 
he  could  have  seen  in  her !  But  I  'm  wan 
dering  from  the  subject.  Seriously,  Dorothy 
dear,  I  love  him  very  sincerely,  and  I  have 
been  more  happy  than  I  can  say  ever  since  I 
200 


YOUNG  NISBET  FINDS   HIS  TONGUE 

found  out  that  it  was  n't  going  to  be  one  of 
those  one-sided  love-affairs  which  assure  the 
incomes  of  the  poets  and  the  lawyers.  And 
now,  —  confidence  for  confidence,  Dorothy  !  " 

"Aunt  Helen!  I  don't  know  what  you 
mean." 

"  Oh,  Dorothy  !  ( I  don't  know  what  you 
mean '  is  one  of  those  phrases  like  *  Not  at 
home '  and  ( Yours  very  sincerely,'  which  are 
white  lies  on  the  face  of  them.  I  don't  want 
to  force  your  confidence.  We  all  have  what 
our  friends  recognize  as  our  private  affairs, 
with  the  accent  —  worse  luck  !  —  on  the  pry  ! 
But  this  is  very  different.  I  'm  very  fond  of 
you,  as  you  know,  and  my  interest  is  far  from 
being  vulgar  curiosity.  Of  a  woman's  five  car 
dinal  failings  —  inquisitiveness,  extravagance, 
vanity,  vacillation,  and  loquacity  —  I  'm  guilt 
less  of  all  except  the  last  and  most  innocent. 
But  don't  we  all  need  to  talk  at  times? 
Don't  we  all  long  for  a  trustworthy  confi 
dante?  Aren't  our  little  secrets  often  like 
precious  liquors  ?  —  if  we  don't  make  use 
of  them,  share  them  with  our  friends,  they 
201 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

either  ferment  and  sour,  or  else  lose  all  their 
sweetness  and  significance  by  slow  evapora 
tion." 

"  You  would  draw  confidence  from  a  stone," 
said  Dorothy,  with  a  little  smile,  "  but  what 
have  I  to  tell  you?" 

"  How  should  I  know  ?  Perhaps  nothing 
—  as  yet ;  perhaps  everything.  Take  your 
time  about  it,  dear.  I  'm  not  trying  to  get 
you  to  commit  yourself.  I  only  want  you  to 
know  that  I'm  ready  to  share  your  secret 
when  it's  ready  to  be  shared,  and  to  help 
and  counsel  you  in  any  way  I  can.  I  know 
the  main  great  fact  already.  Because,  you 
see,  Dorothy,  one  may  conceal  an  infinite 
amount,  even  from  one's  nearest  and  dearest, 
when  they  don't  understand  —  and  they  are 
so  apt  not  to  understand,  one's  nearest  and 
dearest !  And  the  financier  may  hide  his 
schemes  from  his  partners,  or  the  general  his 
plan  of  campaign  from  his  fellow-officers,  or 
the  politician  his  ambitions  from  his  most 
ardent  supporters  —  but  I  doubt,  my  dear,  if 
a  woman  in  love  was  ever  able  to  hide  very 
202 


YOUNG  NISBET  FINDS   HIS  TONGUE 

much  from  another  woman  in  the  same  lament 
able  condition ! 

"  If  it  were  not,"  she  added,  taking  Doro 
thy's  hand  in  hers,  "  for  the  great  happiness 
which  has  come  into  my  life,  do  you  think 
that  I  should  have  been  able  to  divine  that 
other  great  happiness  which  seems  to  be 
hovering  over  yours?  I  am  the  physician 
afflicted  with  the  disease  which  it  becomes  his 
duty  to  study  and  to  cure.  Only,  it 's  not  a 
disease,  Dorothy,  but  a  great,  a  beautiful  reve 
lation.  I  should  have  compared  myself,  in 
stead,  to  the  prophet  who  is  enabled  to  inter 
pret  the  dreams  of  others  because  they  are 
identical  with  his  own.  There 's  my  little 
speech.  And  when  you  are  prepared  to  an 
swer  it,  you'll  find  me  ready." 

As  she  was  speaking  the  last  words,  the 
butler  flung  back  the  curtains  at  the  doorway 
of  the  drawing-room. 

"Mr.  Nisbet,"  he  announced  imperturb- 
ably. 

Dorothy  looked  at  her  aunt,  and  then,  with 
her  frank  laugh :  — 

203 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  If  there  is  an  answer,"  she  said,  "  that 's 
it!" 

As  young  Nisbet  entered,  Mrs.  Wynyard 
was  the  first  to  greet  him. 

"  So,"  she  observed,  looking  him  over  ap 
provingly,  "  you  've  beaten  your  swords  into 
walking-sticks,  and  your  spears  into  top-hats, 
as  my  friend  Isaiah  so  aptly  observes  !  That 's 
very  commendable,  but  I  almost  think  I  like 
you  better  in  your  war-paint.  Do  you  know, 
a  Colonel's  orderly  is  the  spickest-and-span- 
est  object  upon  which  I  've  ever  laid,  or  hope 
to  lay,  my  eyes  ?  " 

"  He  just  naturally  has  to  be,"  said  young 
Nisbet,  with  a  grin.  Somehow,  he  was  al 
ways  more  at  his  ease  with  Mrs.  Wynyard 
than  with  other  women.  "You  see,"  he 
added,  "  if  it  was  n't  that  way,  he  would  n't 
be  it." 

Which  was  as  near  as  he  had  ever  come  to 
making  an  epigram. 

"  Well,  I  shall  leave  you  to  the  tender  mer 
cies  of  Dorothy,"  said  Mrs.  Wynyard.  "I  Ve 
promised  to  take  a  walk  with  your  —  what  is 
204 


YOUNG  NISBET  FINDS  HIS  TONGUE 

it  you  call  him  —  instead  of  commanding  offi 
cer,  you  know  ?  " 

"  K.  0.,"  said  young  Nisbet. 

"  Yes,  that 's  it.  How  deplorably  you  mi 
litiamen  spell !  Well,  at  all  events,  I  'm  going 
to  walk  with  your  K.  0.,  and  it 's  time  I  was 
getting  ready.  Good-by." 

"  Good-by,  Mrs.  Wynyard." 

"  Day-day  !  "  said  Dorothy,  from  the  divan. 

"  She 's  a  crack-a-jack  ! "  exclaimed  young 
Nisbet,  after  she  had  gone. 

"  Mercy  !  "  said  Dorothy.  "  I  never  knew 
you  to  be  so  enthusiastic  over  any  one  before. 
If  you  have  any  intention  of  falling  in  love 
with  Aunt  Helen,  I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty,  as 
a  friend  and  well-wisher,  to  warn  you  in  ad 
vance  that  there  is  n't  the  most  remote  show 
in  the  world  for  you." 

"  Oh,  it 's  not  that !  "  protested  young  Nis 
bet  with  that  stupendous  earnestness  which 
made  people  want  to  hug  him.  "  Why,  Mrs. 
Wynyard  would  have  me  talked  to  a  standstill 
in  two  or  seven  minutes  !  Imagine  me  trying 
to  make  love  to  a  dame  like  that !  She  'd 
205 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

lose  me  so  quick  you  could  n't  see  me  for  the 
dust.  Besides  "  — 

"  Besides  what  ?  "  asked  Dorothy  with  an 
elaborate  air  of  unconcern,  as  he  hesitated. 

Young  Nisbet  was  quite  crimson  now,  and 
twitched  at  the  creases  in  his  trousers  where 
they  passed  over  his  knees,  and  turned  in  his 
toes  excessively. 

"  There  's  somebody  else  in  the  running !  " 
he  blurted  out  desperately. 

There  !  It  was  out  —  a  part  of  it,  at  least 
—  not  at  all,  to  be  sure,  in  anything  even  re 
motely  resembling  one  of  the  thousand  man 
ners  he  had  proposed  to  himself  as  effective, 
during  long  hours  of  wakefulness,  when  there 
was  nothing  in  the  world  but  his  crowding 
thoughts  and  the  ticking  of  his  clock  —  but 
still,  out !  The  ice  was  broken.  It  was  im 
possible  that  she  should  not  understand.  The 
rest  would  be  easier. 

Alas  for  young  Nisbet !  He  was,  as  he 
himself  acknowledged,  not  "  up  on  wo 
men  !  " 

11  Somebody  else  ? "  repeated  Dorothy. 
206 


YOUNG  NISBET  FINDS  HIS  TONGUE 

"  How  ever  did  you  find  that  out  ?  She  only 
told  me  about  it  twenty  minutes  ago." 

Alas,  alas,  for  young  Nisbet !  He  had 
thought  his  feet  upon  the  beach  at  last, 
whereas  they  had  but  touched  a  sand-bar  in 
passing  over.  The  under-tow  of  embarrass 
ment  was  worse  than  ever  now,  and  threatened 
to  drag  him  down. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  mean  Mrs.  Wynyard.  I 
was  n't  talking  of  her  —  that  is,  I  was,  at  first 
—  but  afterwards  —  anyhow,  I  'm  not  talking 
of  her  now  !  When  I  say  there 's  somebody 
else,  I  mean  —  I  mean  "  — 

"  I  am  going  out  for  a  moment,  Dorothy  — 
just  over  to  the  doctor's.  How  de  do,  Mr. 
Nisbet  ?  Wretched  weather,  is  n't  it  ?  Nat 
alie  's  with  your  father,  my  dear,  and  I'll  be 
back  almost  immediately.  Er  —  ahem  !  " 

Mrs.  Rathbawne  went  through  a  kind  of 
rudimentary  calisthenic  exercise,  which  con 
sisted  of  squaring  her  shoulders  and  drawing 
in  her  chin.  It  was  accompanied  by  a  mean 
ing  glance  at  her  daughter,  and  was  designed 
as  an  inconspicuous  substitute  for  the  frank 
207 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

injunction   to    "  sit   up  straight,  my   dear," 
upon  which  Dorothy  had  finally  placed  a  ban. 

"  And  won't  you  feed  the  gold-fish,  my 
dear  ?  "  she  added.  "  I  've  been  so  occupied, 
and  the  poor  things  have  n't  had  a  crumb  for 
three  days.  I  've  just  told  Thomas  to  take 
a  plate  of  bread  in  at  once.  I  'm  sure  Mr. 
Nisbet  won't  mind :  get  him  to  help  you. 
Er  —  ahem  !  And  I  '11  be  back  in  about  fif 
teen  minutes,  or  so." 

For  a  time  there  was  silence  in  the  big, 
warm  conservatory.  Young  Nisbet  had  taken 
the  dish  from  Dorothy's  hands,  and,  after 
seating  himself  on  the  low  marble  parapet 
surrounding  the  pool,  devoted  his  energies 
to  feeding  the  gold-fish.  He  was  thinking 
that  it  was  all  to  be  done  over  again,  and 
that  it  was  harder  than  ever,  if  such  a  thing 
were  possible,  to  do.  What  was  there  about 
those  few  words  which  seemed  to  choke  him  ? 
For  the  moment,  he  took  refuge  in  a  com 
monplace  question. 

"  Is  it  one  of  your  duties  to  feed  these  per 
sons?" 

208 


YOUNG  NISBET  FINDS  HIS  TONGUE 

Dorothy  laughed  shortly,  like  a  little  chord 
of  music. 

"  No  —  it  's  the  Mater's  peculiar  privi 
lege,"  she  answered.  "  She  adores  the  stupid 
little  beasts.  Don't  give  them  such  large 
pieces,  Mr.  Nisbet.  She  feeds  them  regularly 
herself,  —  or  did,  until  Dad  began  to  re 
quire  so  much  of  her  time.  But  lately,  the 
house  has  been  so  upset,  and  she  has  been 
doing  such  a  lot  of  going  out,  and  coming 
in"  — 

"  Yes,"  put  in  young  Nisbet  dryly,  "  I  've 
noticed  the  coming  in  part." 

"So  Natalie  has  been  doing  it  for  her," 
went  on  Dorothy,  more  rapidly.  "  I  suppose 
Natalie  herself  has  n't  had  the  time,  these 
last  three  days.  They  are  hungry,  are  n't 
they  ?  Don't  give  them  such  large  pieces, 
Mr.  Nisbet !  Don't  you  see  the  poor  things 
have  only  button-holes  for  mouths  ?  " 

There  was  another  long  pause,  before  either 
spoke  again. 

"What  defeats  me  about  your  mother," 
said  young  Nisbet  slowly,  "  is  the  way  she 
209 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

manages  to  come  in  just  at  the  wrong  mo 
ment.  At  interruption,  she  's  the  most  star 
performer  I  've  ever  run  up  against.  You 
don't  mind  my  saying  that,  do  you  ?  I  'm 
not  throwing  any  asparagus.  I  would  n't  be 
disrespectful  about  her  for  the  world.  But 
really,  for  chopping  into  a  conversation,  she 's 
a  dazzler ! " 

"  She  is  a  little  inopportune  at  times,"  ad 
mitted  Dorothy. 

"  Inopportune  ?  Yes,  —  she  's  all  of  that. 
When  she  marches  in,  I  feel  exactly  as  if  the 
boat  had  gybed,  and  the  boom  come  over  and 
knocked  me  into  thirty  fathoms  of  water. 
Lord ! " 

"  Why,  how  ridiculous !  "  said  Dorothy. 
"  There 's  nothing  about  the  Mater  to  be 
afraid  of.  She  's  the  dearest,  most  innocent 
old  thing  in  the  world !  She  just  blunders 
along  like  that,  and  nobody  is  less  aware  of 
her  mistakes  than  she  is.  And,  after  all,  why 
should  n't  she  interrupt  us,  so  long  as  we  're 
not  saying  anything  in  particular?  And  if 
we  were  saying  —  anything  in  particular,  we 
210 


YOUNG  NISBET  FINDS   HIS  TONGUE 

could  always  pick  up  the  conversation  where 
we  dropped  it." 

«  That 's  just  what  I  find  it  so  hard  to  do !  " 
confessed  young  Nisbet.  "  I  'm  a  stupid  sort 
of  lout,  you  know,  Miss  Rathbawne.  I've 
never  had  half  a  chance  to  practice  talking  to 
dames,  and  where  other  lads  fuss  like  experts, 
I  just  can't  make  good.  I  foozle  every  stroke. 
I  'm  an  ass  —  that 's  all !  " 

"  You  're  nothing  of  the  sort !  "  said  Doro 
thy  indignantly.  "  You  're  an  extremely  at 
tractive  young  man !  " 

"As  good  as  the  average  in  some  ways, 
perhaps.  But  —  how  can  I  explain  what  I 
mean  ?  —  there  always  comes  a  day  when  a 
chap  wants  to  be  more,  wants  to  be  the  best 
ever,  in  every  way  !  That 's  the  proposition 
I  'm  up  against  now.  I  seem  to  be  just  a 
bundle  of  misfits,  and  —  and  —  oh,  shucks ! 
my  line  of  talk  is  all  crooked,  and  I  can't  tell 
you  what  the  trouble  is,  but "  — 

"  Your  liver  's  out  of  kilter,"  interpolated 
Dorothy. 

"  No,  sir !  "  protested  young  Nisbet.  "  No- 
211 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

thing  is  ever  out  of  kilter  inside  me  !  If  I  'm 
nothing  else,  I  'm  blue-ribbon  boy  on  the 
health  question.  No,  it 's  something  I  want, 
and  that  I  'm  pretty  sure  I  can't  get." 

"I  know  perfectly  well  what  it  is,"  said 
Dorothy,  "  and  you  have  n't  even  asked  for 
it!" 

Young  Nisbet  looked  up  suddenly. 

"  Do  you  mean  ?  "  —  he  stammered,  "  do 
you  mean  ?  "  — 

Outside,  the  front  door  slammed,  and  Mrs. 
Rathbawne's  voice  became  audible,  inquiring 
Dorothy's  whereabouts  of  the  butler.  The 
girl  laughed. 

"  There  's  the  Mater  back  again,"  she  said. 
"Oh,  Mr.  Nisbet!" 

For  young  Nisbet  had  dropped  dish  and 
bread  -  crumbs  into  the  pool  with  a  great 
splash,  electrifying  the  gold-fish  into  un 
heard-of  activity,  and  had  risen,  at  the  same 
moment,  to  his  feet.  He  stood  before  her,  his 
honest  face  blazing,  his  hands  outstretched. 

"  I  love  you  !  "  he  said.  "  Will  you  marry 
me?" 

212 


YOUNG  NISBET  FINDS  HIS  TONGUE 

And  whether  or  not  he  received  an  audible 
reply  to  this  question  he  never  knew,  —  only 
she  was  in  his  arms,  and  gold-fish  might  feast 
or  starve,  for  all  he  cared  about  them.  The 
wide  doors  of  perfect  bliss  swung  open  before 
him,  and  young  Nisbet  passed  within. 

He  was  gazing  ruefully  into  the  water,  as 
Mrs.  Rathbawne  entered.  For  the  first  time 
in  his  experience,  her  presence  did  not  embar 
rass  him. 

"  I  've  dropped  a  dish  into  your  pool,  Mrs. 
Rathbawne,"  he  said,  "and  scared  the  gold 
fish  into  blue  conniption  fits.  Look  how 
they  are  scurrying  around.  I  hope  I  have  n't 
done  them  any  harm." 

"  Oh,  no,"  answered  Mrs.  Rathbawne  pla 
cidly.  "  They  are  getting  so  fat  that  I  should 
think  a  little  exercise,  now  and  again,  would 
be  good  for  them.  We  might  drop  a  dish 
into  the  pool  every  week  or  so,  Dorothy,  just 
to  stir  them  up." 

"  It  might  go  for  a  while,"  said  young 
Nisbet,  "  but  any  old  footbaU  player  like  my 
self,  Mrs.  Rathbawne,  will  tell  you  that  you 
213 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

can't  work  the  same  trick  more  than  just  a 
certain  number  of  times." 

"  Interruption,  for  example  !  "  added  Doro 
thy,  and  laughed  across  at  him,  deliciously, 
with  her  eyes. 


214 


xn 

DIOGENES 

IT  was  during  the  tenth  week  of  the  strike 
at  the  Rathbawne  Mills  that  the  "Kenton 
City  Record"  made  its  long-remembered  at 
tack  upon  Lieutenant-Governor  Barclay.  The 
arraignment  was  one  unparalleled  for  venom, 
even  in  the  columns  of  that  most  notoriously 
scurrilous  journal  in  the  state,  and,  withal, 
there  was  about  it  a  devilish  ingenuity,  a  dis 
tortion  of  facts  so  slight  as  to  defy  refutation, 
and  so  plausible  as  to  carry  conviction.  It  was 
the  last  blow  in  the  long  series  of  discour 
agements  which  Barclay  had  suffered  since 
his  inauguration,  and  for  the  moment  he  was 
completely  unmanned.  He  was  at  no  loss, 
however,  to  trace  the  source  from  which  the 
ingeniously  perverted  facts  had  been  obtained. 
Not  even  McGrath,  with  his  intimate  know 
ledge  of  all  that  went  forward  at  the  capitol, 
215 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

could  have  supplied  information  so  detailed. 
The  hand  of  Elijah  Abbott  was  traceable  in 
every  line  of  the  attack.  Their  conversation, 
on  the  afternoon  when  he  had  first  spoken  to 
Barclay  of  the  impending  strike,  was  repro 
duced  almost  word  for  word,  as  well  as  that 
on  the  occasion  when  McGrath  had  been  pre 
sent,  and  therefrom  the  "  Record  "  went  on 
to  deduce  that  not  even  Peter  Rathbawne, 
with  all  his  obstinacy,  all  his  blindness  to  the 
welfare  of  his  employees,  was  responsible  for 
their  present  destitution  in  the  same  sense  as 
was  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  who  might  have 
avoided  the  strike  by  a  conciliatory  word,  and 
who,  instead,  had  advised  Mr.  Rathbawne  to 
fight  the  working-people  until  the  last  cent  of 
their  money  should  be  exhausted  and  the  last 
drop  of  their  blood  should  be  shed. 

"  Incompetency,"  said  the  article  in  part, 
"is  what  we  long  since  learned  to  expect 
from  John  Hamilton  Barclay.  Gross  neglect 
of  public  duty,  flagrant  callousness  to  re 
sponsibility,  contemptuous  indifference  to  the 
interests  of  the  citizens  whose  votes  placed 
216 


DIOGENES 

him  where  he  is,  —  all  these  have  been  part 
and  parcel  of  his  attitude  since  the  unfortu 
nate  moment  of  his  election.  But  even  in  him 
we  had  not  looked  for  the  incredible  spectacle 
of  a  public  official  deliberately  precipitating 
the  incalculable  distress  which  has  followed  in 
the  wake  of  the  strike  at  the  Rathbawne  Mills. 
Overburdened  with  the  cares  of  office,  in  a 
single  instance  the  Governor  of  AUeghenia 
turned  over  a  question  of  vital  significance  to 
the  lieutenant  from  whom  he  had  every  rea 
son  to  expect  compliance  and  support.  Even 
so,  he  was  careful  to  point  out  a  line  of  ac 
tion  by  which  the  impending  calamity  might 
readily  have  been  avoided.  And  what  was 
the  result?  Not  only  in  total  disregard  of 
plain  duty,  but  in  direct  disobedience  of  the 
orders  of  his  superior,  the  Lieutenant  -  Gov 
ernor  of  Alleghenia  threw  his  influence  into 
the  scale  to  outweigh  law  and  order,  and 
brought  about  the  deplorable  destitution  now 
facing  the  families  of  four  thousand  martyrs 
to  principle.  When  men  are  driven  to  des 
peration,  when  women  turn  to  shame  in  order 
217 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

to  maintain  life,  when  children  are  heard  cry 
ing  in  our  streets  for  bread,  to  whom  shall  we 
point  as  the  author  of  it  all  ?  To  Peter  Rath- 
bawne,  a  poor,  doddering  old  man,  barely 
responsible  now,  if  rumor  is  to  be  believed, 
for  what  he  does  ?  No  !  To  John  Hamil 
ton  Barclay,  Lieutenant  -  Governor  of  Alle- 
ghenia  !  " 

This,  and  much  more  in  the  same  strain, 
while  passed  over  as  sensational  bombast  by 
the  better  element,  did  not  fail  of  its  effect 
upon  the  strikers.  A  mass-meeting,  held  that 
morning,  denounced  Barclay  in  a  set  of  reso 
lutions,  as  a  traitor  to  his  office  and  as  the 
avowed  enemy  of  labor,  and  demanded  his 
impeachment  on  the  ground  of  neglect  of 
duty.  During  the  day,  half  a  score  of  threat 
ening  letters  came  to  his  office.  But  what 
hurt  him  most,  though  he  almost  smiled  at 
his  own  sensitiveness,  was  that  the  doormen 
and  porters  at  the  Capitol  greeted  his  morning 
nod  with  a  stare,  and  even  the  little  office- 
boy,  bending  low  over  his  table  in  the  ante 
room,  did  not  look  up  for  the  customary  wink. 
218 


• 

DIOGENES 

For  his  mother  was  a  trimmer  at  the  Rath- 
bawne  Mills. 

Once  in  his  office,  the  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor  found  it  impossible  to  concentrate  his 
mind  upon  the  work  before  him.  Sentence 
after  sentence,  the  words  of  his  arraignment 
marched  through  his  mind,  as  he  sat  with  his 
elbows  on  the  desk  and  his  chin  in  his  doubled 
fists.  A  single  reading  seemed  to  have 
stamped  them  indelibly  and  forever  upon  his 
memory.  Baffled  by  conflicting  reflections 
he  began,  for  the  first  time,  to  doubt  whether 
his  had  been  the  course  of  conscience,  or 
merely  that  of  pride  and  perversity.  Was  not 
the  "  Record  "  right,  perhaps,  after  all  ?  If  it 
was  true  that  the  strike  was  driving  men  to 
crime  and  women  to  the  streets  —  and  if  it 
was  not,  as  yet,  true,  it  soon  must  be  —  who, 

indeed,  was  to  blame  if  not  he  himself,  who 

. 
had  said  "  Fight   them  ! "  when   he   might 

have  kept  peace  by  a  word  ? 

Suddenly,    the   Lieutenant-Governor   rose, 
and,  crossing  the  room  to  where  the  arms  of 
Alleghenia  hung  upon  the  wall,  took  down 
219 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

the  frame,  laid  it,  face  up,  upon  the  table, 
and,  bending  down,  studied  it  intently.  The 
beautifully  executed  nude  figures  of  Art  and 
Labor  stared  steadfastly  back  at  him,  their 
muscular  hands  grasping  the  circular  shield, 
strength  and  endurance  in  every  line  of  their 
necks,  shoulders,  and  thighs,  purity  and  pur 
pose  in  their  blue  eyes  and  square-cut  jaws. 
He  was  as  motionless  as  they  for  full  five 
minutes.  Presently  his  finger  moved  slowly 
across  the  frame,  and  he  said,  quite  softly : 
"  Justitia  —  Lex  —  Integritas" 
Then  he  looked  up,  straight  before  him, 
out  of  the  open  window,  where  an  encircling 
wistaria  was  dotted  with  minute  sprouts  of 
green,  and  up  at  the  clear,  wide  sky. 

"  I  'm    right  !  "   he    said    aloud.      "  I  'm 
right ! " 

At  five  that  afternoon,  Spencer  Cavendish 
set  out  upon  the  most  unpleasant  assignment 
which  had  ever  fallen  to  his  lot.  When 
Payson  had  told  him  that  he  was  to  procure 
an  interview  with  Peter  Rathbawne  for  the 
220 


DIOGENES 

"  Sentinel,"  with  a  special  eye  to  the  mill- 
owner's  failing  health,  as  reported  in  the 
morning's  "  Record,"  he  had  shrunk  back  in 
stinctively  from  a  task  so  distasteful,  and  was 
on  the  point  of  refusing.  But  two  consid 
erations  checked  this  impulse.  If  the  thing 
were  to  be  done  at  all,  he  thought,  surely  it 
had  better  be  the  work  of  one  friendly  to  the 
Rathbawnes  and  with  their  interests  at  heart 
than  that  of  a  bungling  outsider,  with  it  in 
his  power  to  hurt  them  beyond  expression. 
The  argument  was  plausible,  but  behind  its 
logic,  at  the  back  of  Cavendish's  brain,  there 
lay  another  reason,  without  which  the  first 
had  been  insufficient  to  persuade  him.  He 
wanted  to  see  Natalie  again  —  to  meet  her 
under  the  shield  of  some  compatible  excuse, 
so  that  he  should  not  seem  to  have  sought 
her  of  his  own  will.  He  was  thirsty  for 
a  word  from  her,  thirsty  with  the  pitiable 
thirst  of  the  shipwrecked  sailor  who  knows  a 
swallow  of  salt  water  will  but  increase  his 
torture,  and  who  craves  it,  none  the  less. 
Long  since,  he  had  forfeited  his  right  to  her 
221 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

friendship  —  no  sophistry  could  blind  him 
to  that.  Moreover  the  ocean  of  degradation 
not  only  lay  behind  him ;  it  lay  in  front  as 
well.  It  was  as  he  had  told  Barclay.  He 
stood  upon  an  island,  not  the  mainland,  of 
redemption,  and  another  plunge  was  inev 
itable. 

What  he  expected  to  gain  by  a  word  with 
Natalie  Rathbawne,  Cavendish  himself  could 
hardly  have  told.  At  most,  he  was  conscious 
of  a  faint  hope  that  in  some  turn  or  twist  of 
the  conversation  he  might  have  a  chance  of 
thanking  her,  of  telling  her  that  he  rejoiced 
in  her  happiness,  and  of  bidding  her  good- 
by.  For  paramount  in  his  mind  lay  the 
thought  of  his  approaching  downfall,  inevit 
able,  utter,  and  final.  He  did  not  attempt  to 
deceive  himself.  He  knew  what  was  coming. 
It  had  come  before. 

When  Cavendish  had  sent  in  his  card,  a 
servant  showed  him  through  the  library  into 
the  conservatory,  where  Peter  Rathbawne  was 
seated  in  a  deep  rattan  chair  watching  his 
daughter,  who  stood  at  his  side  tossing  bread- 
222 


DIOGENES 

crumbs  to  the  gold-fish  in  the  circular  central 
pool.  They  both  turned  at  the  sound  of  his 
footsteps,  and  Natalie  held  out  her  hand. 

"  So  you  've  come  at  last ! "  she  said.  "  I 
should  think  it  was  quite  time.  Dad,  you 
remember  Mr.  Cavendish,  don't  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  answered  her  father.     "  Oh,  yes !  " 

Rathbawne's  voice  was  without  lif e,  his  face 
almost  wholly  void  of  expression.  Though  he 
glanced  at  Cavendish,  it  was  with  the  blank 
stare  of  a  delirious  person  whose  attention 
is  unconsciously  caught  by  an  unusual  noise 
rather  than  with  any  evidence  of  direct  inter 
est,  and  he  took  no  further  part  in  the  con 
versation,  nor  even  seemed  to  realize  that  his 
companions  were  speaking.  When  he  had 
answered  his  daughter's  question  and  looked 
at  Cavendish,  he  leaned  back  in  his  chair,  and 
wearily  closed  his  eyes. 

"  He  is  very  much  changed  since  you  saw 
him,"  said  the  girl  in  a  lower  tone,  turning 
again  to  the  pool,  "  and  it 's  all  come  about  in 
the  past  six  weeks.  The  strike  has  had  a 
most  curious,  a  most  pathetic  effect  upon  him. 
223 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

Even  the  doctor  is  at  a  loss  to  account  for  it. 
I  think  that  I  am,  perhaps,  the  only  one  who 
really  understands.  He  has  always  been  so 
proud  of  his  mills  and  of  his  people,  so  loyal 
to  them,  so  like  a  father  to  them,  one  and 
all,  that  to  have  them  turn  against  him  like 
this,  and,  what  is  worse,  get  to  drinking  and 
rioting,  has  almost  broken  his  heart.  The 
doctor  says  only  one  thing  can  save  him,  and 
that  is  to  see  the  mills  going  again  and  the 
people  happy  and  prosperous,  as  they  were 
before.  And  who  knows  when  that  will 
be  ?  For,  feeble  and  broken  as  he  is,  he  will 
never  give  in  to  the  Union.  Of  that  I  'm 
sure." 

"  I  'm  very  sorry,"  said  Cavendish  softly. 
One  look  at  Rathbawne  had  been  enough  to 
show  him  that  the  interview  for  which  he  had 
been  sent  was  an  impossibility.  One  look  at 
Natalie  sufficed  to  banish  from  his  mind  every 
thought  save  that  of  her  pitiful  pallor  and 
the  pathetic  quiver  of  her  lips. 

"  I  had  no  idea  it  was  as  bad  as  this,"  he 
continued.  "  Can't  anything  be  done  ?  You 
224 


DIOGENES 

are  far  from  being  in  good  shape  yourself, 
Miss  Rathbawne." 

"  Tired  and  dispirited,  that 's  all,"  she  an 
swered,  trying  to  smile.  "  And  I  fear  no 
thing  can  be  done  as  long  as  our  fate  lies  in 
Governor  Abbott's  hands.  There  's  no  use 
in  harping  on  that,  though.  You  know  as 
well  as  I  what  we  have  to  expect  from  him. 
Did  you  see  the  attack  on  Mr.  Barclay  this 
morning  ?  " 

"  An  infamous  libel !  "  exclaimed  Caven 
dish  hotly. 

Miss  Rathbawne  crumbled  the  bread  be 
tween  her  fingers,  and  resumed  her  feeding 
of  the  gold-fish. 

"  You  must  know  that  I  am  the  last  person 
in  the  world  to  need  that  assurance,"  she  said 
slowly.  "  It  is  only  another  thread  in  all  the 
hideous  tissue  of  injustice  and  iniquity  which 
has  been  wrapped  about  us  like  a  pall.  What 
a  shame,  is  it  not,  that  such  a  man  as  he 
should  be  powerless  to  do  the  work  I  think 
God  intended  for  him  ?  And  what  a  shame 
that  Alleghenia,  needing  his  clear  head  and 
225 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

his  strong  arm  and  his  loyal  heart  as  she  does 
in  this  hour  of  emergency,  should  only  be 
sneering  at  him  as  a  coward  and  a  cad  !  " 

"  I  cannot  believe,"  answered  Cavendish, 
"  that  the  venom  of  the  '  Record '  is  to  be 
taken  as  the  sentiment  of  the  state.  There 
must  be  many  —  there  must  be  a  majority  of 
Alleghenians  who  know,  as  we  know,  that  no 
better  man  breathes  than  John  Barclay/' 

"  Thank  you,"  said  the  girl. 

In  the  open  spaces  of  water  between  the 
lily-pads  the  fat  indolent  gold-fish  mouthed 
at  the  crumbs,  stirring  the  silence  with  little 
sucking  sounds,  and  sending  tiny  ripples  wid 
ening  on  all  sides.  One  alone,  dingy  yellow 
in  color,  moped  apart  from  his  fellows,  and 
took  no  interest  in  the  banquet. 

"  That  one 's  a  cynic,"  said  Miss  Rathbawne 
presently.  "  My  subtlest  cajoleries  never  win 
him  from  that  attitude  of  sneering  contempt. 
The  others  get  all  the  tid-bits,  and  he  does  n't 
seem  to  care.  He  isn't  even  ornamental  — 
he 's  in  a  class  by  himself.  I  call  him  Dio 
genes,  and  I'm  thinking  of  buying  him  a 
226 


DIOGENES 

tub  all  for  himself,  where  he  can  sulk  in  soli 
tary  grandeur  to  his  heart's  content." 

"  Perhaps  not  altogether  in  a  class  by  him 
self,"  said  Cavendish.  "  There  are  others, 
you  know,  who  make  no  use  of  their  oppor 
tunities,  and  who  can  never  hope  to  be  any 
thing  but  ugly  and  useless,  while  their  fellows 
are  getting  all  the  good  things  of  life,  and 
enjoying  them,  and  giving  pleasure  of  one 
kind  or  another  into  the  bargain." 

Something  in  his  tone  caused  Natalie  to 
look  at  him  suddenly. 

"  I  'm  not  enough  of  a  pessimist,"  she  an 
swered  firmly,  "  to  believe  that  true  in  any 
thing  beyond  appearances.  We  are  all  apt, 
no  matter  how  conceited  we  may  be,  to  under 
estimate  at  times  the  extent  of  our  own  use 
fulness  —  or,  rather,  we  are  unconscious  of 
the  direction  in  which  it  is  most  productive. 
If  what  you  say  is  so,  then  all  that  is  lacking 
is  the  opportunity,  and  that  is  sure  to  come. 
We  may  squander  many  opportunities,  and, 
hardly  less  probably,  actually  turn  to  account 
in  a  way  we  do  not  perceive  many  which  we 
227 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

seem  to  ourselves  to  squander.  In  any  event, 
others  will  come.  A  woman  once  said  to  me 
that  the  good  in  her  was  not  cultivated  nor 
exercised  with  a  view  to  individual  immor 
tality.  That  seemed  to  me  to  mean  so  much 
that  I  've  built  up  quite  a  little  creed  on  it. 
It 's  the  principle,  is  n't  it,  upon  which  the 
whole  scheme  of  the  world  hinges  ?  A  mil 
lion  leaves  fall  and  decay  to  enrich  the  soil 
wherefrom  two  million  more  may  spring.  An 
infinity  of  little  shell-fish  die,  and  the  ages 
grind  their  shells  to  powder  to  make  the  sands 
and  the  chalk  cliffs.  Countless  raindrops 
sacrifice  their  identity  to  maintain  that  of  one 
great  river.  And  why  should  it  not  be  so 
with  us?  If  only  we  can  contribute  in  the 
smallest  degree  to  the  uplifting  of  our  kind, 
to  the  advancement  of  the  race,  to  the  main 
tenance  of  what  we  know  to  be  right,  what 
possible  difference  can  it  make  whether,  in 
the  effort  to  be  of  such  service,  we  live  or 
succumb  ?  We  were  put  here,  it  seems  to 
me,  very  much  as  separate  notes  are  put  into 
one  great  harmony.  Each  note  is  struck  at 
228 


DIOGENES 

the  proper  time,  serves  its  purpose,  and  goes 
into  nothingness.  Each  plays  its  part,  how 
ever  small.  We  can't  all  be  included  in  the 
wonderful  final  chords.  Our  place  may  seem 
trivial  to  us,  and  yet  in  some  sense  we  may  be 
sure  we  are  all  contributors  to  the  unity  and 
perfection  of  the  whole.  That  ought  to  be 
enough.  No  one  note  achieves  individual  im 
mortality,  but  each  does  something  to  assure 
the  immortality  of  the  composition  of  which 
it  forms  a  part.  If  we  don't  believe  that,  if 
we  are  not  content  to  have  it  so,  how  is  it 
possible  to  believe  in  any  divine  purpose,  any 
scheme  of  justice  at  all?  Look  at  the  in 
describable  waste  of  life  on  all  sides  of  us. 
If  only  in  the  case  of  humanity,  people  are 
dying  by  hundreds  every  minute,  unheeded, 
unlamented,  unrecorded.  Human  life  is  such 
a  little  thing!  —  as  little  as  the  life  of  the  leaf 
or  the  raindrop.  And  yet  in  the  death  of 
these  last  we  are  able  to  perceive  the  working 
of  a  vast  system  which  must  be  the  outcome 
of  a  direct  purpose,  and  whereby  the  best  in 
terest  of  each  species  is  furthered.  And  so, 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

the  human  race.  Why  should  it  be  less  than 
lesser  things  ?  One  man  dies  in  order  that 
two  may  live.  A  confederacy  —  as  in  the 
case  of  our  own  Rebellion  —  perishes  in  order 
that  a  nation  may  endure.  Everywhere,  in 
short,  the  individual  sacrifices  his  individual 
existence  in  order  that  it  may  contribute  to 
and  fertilize  the  growth  of  his  species.  So 
far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  am  perfectly  con 
tent  to  have  it  so.  I  should  ask  nothing 
better,  when  my  own  time  comes,  than  the 
assurance  that,  in  one  way  or  another,  my 
death  had  a  significance,  —  that  it  was  for  a 
person  or  a  principle,  and  not  merely  a  natu 
ral  phenomenon.  I  may  not  be  able  to  believe 
that ;  but  there  is  one  belief  possible  to  all  of 
us,  —  I  mean  that,  if  not  in  death,  then  as 
suredly  in  life,  we  have  been  of  service  to  our 
race  and  time.  We  are  often  told  that  the 
indispensable  thing  does  not  exist.  I  think 
the  same  may  be  said  of  the  useless  one.  I 
don't  believe  even  the  humblest  of  God's  crea 
tures  goes  out  of  life  without  having  been  at 
one  time  or  another  an  influence  for  good.  I 
230 


DIOGENES 

even  have  hopes  of  Diogenes.  Some  day 
there  will  be  a  scrap  of  refuse  or  an  ugly 
little  bug  which  mars  the  symmetry  of  the 
pool,  and  Diogenes  will  eat  it,  —  and  perhaps 
die  of  indigestion  as  a  martyr  to  principle  !  " 

The  silence  which  followed  her  words  was 
broken  by  a  hoarse  sob  from  Mr.  Rathbawne, 
and,  turning,  they  saw  that  his  head  had 
fallen  back  against  the  chair,  with  his  eyes, 
wide  and  staring,  fixed  upon  the  glass  roof, 
and  his  breath  coming  in  short,  thick  gasps 
from  between  his  parted  lips.  In  an  instant 
Natalie  was  on  her  knees  by  his  side,  with 
her  arms  about  him. 

"Don't  be  frightened,"  she  said,  looking 
up  at  Cavendish  with  a  brave  little  smile. 
"  It 's  his  heart.  He  has  had  these  attacks 
frequently  of  late.  Will  you  get  me  the 
whiskey  decanter  and  a  glass  ?  You  '11  find 
them  in  the  dining-room  —  on  the  sideboard 
—  to  the  left." 

Decanter  in  hand,  Cavendish  stood  watch 
ing  her,  as  she  tenderly  poured  a  little  of  the 
raw  spirit  between  her  father's  lips.  The 
231 


THE   LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

effect  was  almost  instantaneous.  Rathbawne 
choked,  swallowed  the  restorative,  and  pre 
sently  raised  his  head  and  looked  at  her, 
patting  her  hand  tremulously  with  his  own. 
They  were  so  absorbed  in  each  other  that 
neither  noted  a  sudden,  strange  transforma 
tion  in  Cavendish's  expression.  From  the 
wide-mouthed  decanter  in  his  hand,  the  faint 
acrid  odor  of  Peter  Rathbawne's  fine  old 
Scotch  whiskey  crept  upward,  stung  his  nos 
trils,  and,  of  a  sudden,  set  him  all  a-quiver, 
like  a  startled  animal.  The  smell  was  al 
most  that  of  pure  alcohol,  and  set  his  mouth 
watering,  and  drove  his  breath  out  in  a  little 
shuddering  gasp  that  was  like  a  revulsion 
from  some  sickening  medicine,  just  swallowed. 
But  he  knew  it,  none  the  less,  for  something 
which  belonged  to  and  was  part  of  him.  For 
weeks  he  had  avoided  it.  Now  it  assailed 
him  like  that  foe  of  Hercules,  of  whom  he 
had  spoken  to  Barclay,  whose  strength  was 
multiplied  a  hundred-fold  for  every  time  his 
opponent  trod  him  under  foot. 

As  he  told  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  at  the 
232 


DIOGENES 

moment  when  least  he  expected  it,  the  demon 
touched  his  arm.  For  a  minute  he  fought 
desperately  against  the  suggestion,  with  his 
eyes  closed,  and  his  teeth  cutting  into  his 
inner  lip.  He  clung  madly  to  the  thought  of 
the  presence  in  which  he  was,  conscious  that 
the  girl's  words  had  uplifted  him  immeasur 
ably,  given  him  a  clearer  insight  into  the 
essential  significance  of  life  than  he  had  ever 
known.  It  was  useless  —  useless  —  useless  ! 
There  was  nothing  left  in  the  world  but  the 
smell  of  the  liquor  that  he  loathed  and  that 
he  loved ! 

"  If  you  were  to  leave  us  alone  "  — 
At  the  suggestion,  Cavendish  bowed  and 
went  slowly  back  toward  the  dining-room. 
Once  out  of  sight  of  the  others,  he  paused, 
glanced  back  over  his  shoulder,  and  then, 
abruptly,  supporting  himself  with  one  hand 
against  the  side-post  of  the  doorway,  raised 
the  decanter  in  the  other  to  his  lips,  and 
drank. 


233 


xm 

THE    INSTRUMENT    OF   FATE 

THE  day  had  been  deliciously  warm  and 
still,  one  of  those  eloquent  heralds  of  spring 
that  are  touched  with  a  peculiar  beauty  rival 
ing  her  own.  As  Cavendish  came  out  of  the 
Rathbawne  residence,  Bradbury  Avenue  was 
splashed  with  huge  blotches  of  dazzling  yel 
low,  where  the  light  of  the  westwardly  sun 
poured  between  the  houses  and  was  spilled 
upon  the  smooth  pavement.  The  man  choked 
slightly  at  the  after-taste  of  the  raw  whiskey 
he  had  just  swallowed,  but  almost  immediately 
he  smiled. 

"  I  knew  it  would  come,"  he  said  to  himself 
as  he  turned  out  into  the  avenue,  "  and  here 
it  is.  I  'm  not  surprised.  I  'm  glad,  God  help 
me  —  I  'm  glad  !  " 

His  mouth  was  watering,  and  he  felt,  as  it 
were,  every  inch  of  the  stimulant's  progress 
234 


THE  INSTRUMENT  OF  FATE 

through  his  veins,  warming  him  with  its  fa 
miliar  glow.  When  he  had  left  the  conserva 
tory,  he  had  been  trembling  pitifully.  Now 
he  was  calm,  and  as  steady  as  if  his  nerves 
had  been  cords  of  steel.  Responsibility,  reso 
lution,  remorse  —  they  had  fallen  from  him 
like  so  many  discarded  garments.  He  was 
sharply  alive  to  the  pleasure  of  the  moment, 
keenly  appreciative  of  the  sunlight,  the  soft 
air,  the  laughter  of  the  children  romping  in 
the  streets.  Of  a  singular  languor  which  had 
been  wont  to  come  over  him  toward  the  close 
of  each  busy  day  of  the  past  six  weeks  there 
was  now  no  hint.  He  walked  rapidly,  with 
his  shoulders  thrown  back,  and  his  chin  well 
elevated,  but  his  course  was  not  in  the  direc 
tion  of  his  home,  nor  yet  in  that  of  the  "  Sen 
tinel  "  office.  Instinctively,  he  had  turned 
toward  that  part  of  the  city  where  were  the 
large  restaurants,  the  playhouses,  and  the  more 
pretentious  saloons. 

At  a  corner,  he  wheeled  abruptly  into  one 
of  these  last,  and,  seating  himself  at  a  small 
table,  called  for  an  absinthe.     The  place  was 
235 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

already  lighted,  and  each  glass  in  the  pyra 
mids  behind  the  bar  twinkled  with  a  tiny 
brilliant  reflection  of  the  nearest  incandes 
cent  globes.  The  air  was  faintly  redolent  of 
lemon  and  the  mingled  odors  of  many  liquors. 
To  Cavendish  it  was  all  very  familiar,  and  all 
very  pleasant.  Again  he  told  himself  that  he 
was  glad,  glad  that  the  restraint  he  had  been 
exercising  was  at  an  end.  He  was  free,  he 
thought,  free  to  accomplish  his  own  inevita 
ble  damnation.  He  had  no  patience  for  the 
tedious  operation  of  dripping  the  water  into 
his  absinthe  over  a  lump  of  sugar,  but  ordered 
gum,  and  stirring  the  two  rapidly  together, 
filled  the  glass  to  the  brim  from  a  little 
pitcher  at  his  side.  Then  he  drank,  slowly 
but  steadily,  barely  touching  the  glass  to  the 
table  between  his  sips. 

Presently,  he  was  conscious  of  a  slight 
numbness  at  his  wrists,  a  barely  perceptible 
tingling  in  his  knees  and  knuckles.  His 
heart  was  fluttering,  and  his  temples  pulsed 
pleasurably.  He  glanced  toward  the  glitter 
ing  pyramids  of  glasses,  and  for  a  fraction  of 
236 


time  they  seemed  to  shift  in  unison  a  foot  to 
the  right,  returning  immediately  to  their 
original  position  with  a  jerk.  Then  he  rose, 
and  went  toward  the  door,  catching  sight  of 
his  face  in  a  mirror  as  he  passed.  It  was 
very  pale,  and  he  crinkled  his  nose  at  it 
derisively,  and  then  smiled  at  the  whimsical 
oddity  of  his  reflected  expression.  On  the 
threshold  he  paused,  looking  toward  the  west, 
blazing  with  the  red  and  saffron  of  the  de 
parted  sun. 

"  Oof  !  "  he  said,  with  a  downward  tug  at 
his  waistcoat.  "  It  comes  quickly.  That  's 
what  it  is  to  be  out  of  practice." 

He  dined  alone  in  a  corner  of  an  unfre 
quented  restaurant,  eating  little,  but  drinking 
steadily,  absinthe  at  first,  then  whiskey,  four 
half-goblets  of  it,  barely  diluted  with  water. 
Then  he  found  himself  once  more  in  the 
streets,  now  brilliantly  lighted,  going  on  and 
on  without  purpose,  save  when  the  blazing 
colored  glass  of  a  saloon  swerved  him  from 
his  path.  He  knew  that  he  was  walking 
steadily,  avoiding  obstacles  as  if  by  instinct, 
237 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

stepping  from  and  on  to  kerbs  without  any 
actual  perception  of  them.  Faces  swam  past 
him,  staring.  Men,  particularly  those  at  the 
bars  he  leaned  against,  were  talking  loudly, 
but,  as  it  seemed  to  him,  brilliantly.  He 
often  smiled  involuntarily,  and  sometimes 
spoke  to  one  of  them,  drank  with  him,  and 
presently  was  alone  again,  walking  on  and 
on.  Occasionally  a  white-faced  clock  bulged 
at  him  out  of  the  night;  and  then  he  no 
ticed  that  time  was  galloping.  It  was  close 
upon  one  when  he  found  himself  in  a  quarter 
which  his  recent  employment  had  made  famil 
iar  —  the  neighborhood  of  the  Rathbawne 
Mills. 

Here,  suddenly,  his  mind  emerged  from  a 
mist,  and  every  detail  of  his  surroundings 
stood  out  sharp  and  clear-cut.  The  street 
was  insufficiently  illuminated,  but  the  light  of 
a  full  moon  cut  across  the  buildings  on  one 
side,  half  way  between  roof  and  sidewalk. 
Cavendish  perceived,  with  a  kind  of  dull  sur 
prise,  that  the  pavements  were  thronged,  and 
that  almost  every  window  framed  a  figure  or 
238 


THE  INSTRUMENT  OF  FATE 

two.  A  hoarse  murmur  pulsed  in  the  air,  and 
his  quickened  ear  was  greeted  on  every  side 
by  foul  jests  and  grumbled  oaths,  broken 
now  and  again  by  drunken  imprecations, 
scuffles,  or  the  shrill  invective  of  women 
invisible  in  the  throng.  Once  a  girl  touched 
his  arm,  and  he  found  her  face  close  to  his, 
thin,  haggard,  and  imploring.  He  shook  her 
off,  and  turned  unsteadily  into  the  doorway 
of  a  saloon ;  stumbling,  as  he  did  so,  over  a 
little  boy  crying  on  the  step. 

Inside,  the  air  was  reeking  with  rank  smoke 
and  the  fumes  of  stale  beer.  The  floor  was 
strewn  with  sawdust,  streaked  and  circled  by 
shuffling  feet ;  the  mirror  backing  the  bar  was 
covered  with  soiled  gauze  dotted  with  tawdry 
roses,  and  an  indescribable  dinginess  seemed 
to  have  laid  its  sordid  fingers  on  all  the  fit 
tings. 

The  room  was  crowded,  nevertheless  — 
crowded  not  only  with  the  men  themselves, 
but,  to  the  stifling  point,  with  their  voices 
and  their  gestures  and  the  spirit  of  their 
unrest  and  discontent.  Cavendish,  leaning 
239 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

against  the  end  of  the  bar,  looked  wearily 
down  the  line  of  flushed  faces  and  backward 
at  the  disputing  groups  which  rocked  and 
swayed,  as  the  men  argued  and  swore,  grasp 
ing  the  lapels  of  each  others'  coats,  and  spill 
ing  the  liquor  from  their  glasses  as  they  ges 
ticulated.  He  was  wholly  sober  now.  It  was 
the  stage  of  dissipation  which  experience  had 
taught  him  to  dread  the  most  —  the  emer 
gence  from  dulled  sensibility  into  a  nervous 
tension  upon  which  stimulant  had  no  appar 
ent  effect.  He  was  trembling  again,  too,  and 
his  face,  as  he  saw  it  in  the  mirror  through 
the  clouding  gauze,  was  as  that  of  a  stran 
ger,  a  stranger  of  whom  he  was  afraid.  He 
swallowed  the  whiskey  he  had  ordered,  and, 
supporting  himself  by  the  bar,  swung  back 
and  gave  his  attention  to  what  the  men  about 
him  were  saying.  It  did  not  need  his  sharp 
ened  perception  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  he 
was  in  the  thick  of  the  worst  element  of  the 
Rathbawne  strikers,  or  that  the  situation  was 
a  crisis.  What  little  restraint  had  character 
ized  the  earlier  stages  of  the  strike  was  now, 
240 


THE  INSTEUMENT  OF  FATE 

most  evidently,  at  an  end.  Starvation  was  no 
longer  a  mere  possibility,  or  violence  a  mere 
threat.  The  men  raved  like  wild  creatures 
against  Rathbawne  and  John  Barclay,  re 
counting  maudlinly  the  destitution  of  their 
families,  and,  anon,  flaming  forth  into  cries 
for  vengeance.  How  long  the  babel  lasted 
Cavendish  could  not  have  said.  Long  since, 
the  doors  had  been  closed,  and  the  lights 
half  lowered,  in  mock  deference  to  a  suppos 
edly  vigilant  police,  when  suddenly  a  hush 
fell  upon  the  assemblage.  A  side  door  had 
opened,  and  Michael  McGrath  stood  in  the 
midst  of  his  followers,  with  his  arms  folded 
and  a  thin  smile  upon  his  lips.  There  was 
not  a  whisper  as  he  began  to  speak.  The 
men  leaned  toward  him  breathlessly,  their 
mouths  open,  their  eyes  starting  glassily  out 
of  their  sodden  faces. 

"  And  how  long  is  this  going  to  go  on  ?  " 
demanded  their  leader,  with  a  sneer.  "  Talk 
—  talk  —  talk  !  That 's  always  the  way,  and 
nothing  done,  after  all.  Well,  there 's  been 
about  enough  of  it,  and  that 's  flat.  You  've 
241 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOK 

been  living  on  the  Union,  and  I  suppose  you 
think  you  can  go  on  living  on  it  till  hell 
freezes  over.  Now  listen  to  me.  When  the 
strike  began  we  had  plenty  of  funds,  and 
more  came  to  us  from  the  Central  Federa 
tion.  The  funds  are  gone,  d'  you  hear,  and 
the  Federation  is  asking  what  we  mean  to  do. 
There  is  six  hundred  and  odd  dollars  in  the 
treasury.  No  need  to  tell  you  how  far  that 
much  will  go,  is  there  ?  Not  one  day  !  And 
with  all  your  talk,  you  've  everything  your 
own  way,  if  only  you  knew  it —  a  police  that 
does  n't  dare  lif t  a  finger  against  you,  and 
a  Governor  that  won't  budge  an  inch  till  I 
give  the  word  !  Well,  to-morrow  I  give  the 
word,  understand  me  ?  To-morrow  I  throw 
you  over,  and  you  can  get  out  of  this  the  best 
way  you  can.  I  'm  sick  of  your  talk.  I  'm 
sick  of  your  doing  nothing.  Your  daughters 
are  on  the  streets,  your  wives  and  your  chil 
dren  are  starving,  and  you  —  by  God !  you 
are  boozing  in  a  bar  till  daylight,  and  talk" 
ing  !  So  that 's  enough.  To  -  morrow,  the 
strike 's  at  an  end.  To-morrow,  the  Gov 
242 


THE  INSTRUMENT  OF  FATE 

ernor  comes  down  on  you  like  ten  thousand 
of  brick  !  And  I  'm  the  man  that  gives  the 
word  !  Unless  "  — 

He  paused  and  cast  a  keen  glance  at  the 
faces  which  surrounded  him.  His  last  words 
had  been  greeted  by  a  low  growl. 

"  Unless,"  he  continued,  "  you  know  your 
business,  and  make  a  move  that 's  worth  the 
name." 

The  hush  of  attention  seemed  to  deepen 
into  the  leaden  silence  of  expectancy. 

"  There  are  two  men  who  must  be  put  out 
of  the  way,"  said  McGrath  slowly,  "  and  that 
before  another  midnight.  I  don't  care  how 
it 's  done,  but  done  it  must  be,  for  the  sake 
of  example.  It 's  easy  enough  to  manage  it, 
as  things  are.  There  '11  be  a  howl,  but  we 
have  the  authorities  fixed.  And  those  two 
men  must  go  !  " 

In  the  tense  silence  which  followed,  a  man's 
voice  whispered  two  words  hoarsely :  — 

"  Mr.  Rathbawne  !  " 

"  Ay,  Mr.  Rathbawne !  "  echoed  McGrath, 
flashing  into  that  passionate  manner  of  his 
243 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

which  carried  all  before  it.  "  Mr.  Rathbawne, 
•who  's  starving  you  !  Mr.  Rathbawne,  who  's 
making  your  sons  drunkards !  Mr.  Rath 
bawne,  who  's  debauching  your  daughters  ! 
Mr.  Rathbawne,  who 's  killing  your  wives 
by  inches  !  Mr.  Rathbawne,  and  Mr.  John 
Hamilton  Barclay,  Lieutenant  -  Governor  of 
Alleghenia  !  " 

For  a  moment  it  seemed  as  if  he  would  be 
swept  off  his  feet  by  a  torrent  of  enthusiasm. 
The  men  crowded  about  him,  slapping  him 
upon  the  shoulders,  shouting  their  approval, 
reaching  for  his  hand.  One  brandished  a 
revolver  under  his  nose,  with  a  shrill  cry  of 
"This '11  do  it,  Mac!  This  '11  do  it,  by 
God  !  "  The  rest  had  turned  to  each  other, 
embracing  frantically,  and  repeating  his  words 
in  a  kind  of  frenzy. 

Presently  McGrath  raised  his  hand,  and,  as 
silence  was  restored  at  the  signal,  turned  to 
the  bar-tender  with  his  thin  smile. 

"  Set  'em  up,  Dick,"  he  said  composedly. 
"  It 's  on  me,  this  time,  and  we  '11  drink  to 
better  days." 

244 


THE   INSTEUMENT  OF  FATE 

In  the  confusion  Cavendish  made  his  way 
to  the  side-door,  and  passing  through  it  into 
the  street,  hesitated,  dazzled  by  a  brilliant 
light.  It  was  broad  day. 


As  the  Lieutenant-Governor  entered  his 
ante-room  that  morning  his  eyes  contracted 
suddenly,  and  he  stopped,  with  his  hand  upon 
the  knob  of  the  door.  There  could  be  no  mis 
taking  the  look  in  the  face  of  the  man  who 
sat  facing  him,  gripping  desperately  at  the 
arms  of  his  chair.  Cavendish  was  as  white 
as  chalk,  with  the  hunted  look  of  despair 
which  lay  so  vividly  on  Barclay's  remem 
brance  of  the  night  when  they  had  met  on 
Bradbury  Avenue.  He  rose  as  the  Lieuten 
ant-Governor  appeared  and  drew  himself  up 
with  an  effort  at  steadiness,  conscious  that 
the  others  present  were  observing  him  nar 
rowly.  But  Barclay's  hesitation  was  as  brief 
as  it  had  been  involuntary.  With  a  bare 
glance  at  his  subordinates,  he  came  forward 
cordially  to  take  Cavendish's  hand,  and  then, 
245 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

opening  the  door  of  his  private  office,  mo 
tioned  him  to  enter  first. 

"  Glad  to  see  you,"  he  said  steadily,  as 
their  hands  met. 

Once  inside,  the  manner  of  both  men 
changed  as  abruptly  as  it  had  been  assumed. 
The  Lieutenant-Governor  went  slowly  toward 
his  desk,  with  his  head  bent,  and  Cavendish, 
throwing  himself  into  the  nearest  chair,  and, 
with  no  attempt  at  concealment,  drew  a  flask 
from  his  pocket  and  drank  a  long  draught. 
He  looked  up  to  find  that  the  Lieutenant- 
Governor  had  wheeled  at  the  desk,  and  was 
standing  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  him. 

"  Wait  a  minute,"  said  Cavendish,  as  Bar 
clay  seemed  about  to  speak.  "  We  won't  dis 
cuss  this,  for  the  moment,  if  you  please." 

He  held  up  the  flask  with  a  shrug. 

"  In  fact  we  need  n't  discuss  it  at  all,"  he 
continued.  "  I  've  simply  gone  to  hell,  that 's 
all  there  is  about  it.  I  knew  I  would.  I 
told  you  so  long  ago.  I  did  n't  come  here  to 
make  excuses  —  or  to  receive  rebukes,  John 
Barclay.  I've  a  means  here  of  settling  the 
246 


THE   INSTRUMENT  OF  FATE 

problem  which  can  give  cards  and  spades  to 
all  your  projects  of  reform."  And  he  tapped 
his  pocket,  where  the  cloth  bulged  slightly, 
with  a  smile.  The  Lieutenant-Governor  made 
no  attempt  to  interrupt  him. 

"  What  I  did  come  to  say,"  went  on  Caven 
dish,  more  steadily,  "  is  that  your  life  and  Mr. 
Rathbawne's  are  in  danger.  You're  to  be 
put  out  of  the  way,  both  of  you,  before  twelve 
to-night.  McGrath  's  determined  on  it,  and 
there  's  no  lack  of  men  to  carry  out  his  orders. 
The  strikers  are  desperate.  I  overheard  their 
talk,  while  —  well,  while  I  was  getting  drunk ! 
What 'a  that  t" 

He  stopped,  with  his  hand  to  his  ear.  Some 
one  was  tapping  at  the  communicating  door. 

"  Put  up  that  flask  !  "  said  Barclay  under 
his  breath,  adding  aloud,  as  Cavendish  obeyed: 

"  Come  in  !  " 

The  door  swung  open  softly,  and  Governor 
Abbott,  smiling  and  rubbing  his  hands,  ap 
peared  upon  the  threshold. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mr.  Barclay,"  he  said. 
"  I  did  not  know  you  were  engaged.  We 
247 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVEKNOR 

have  the  pleasure  of  another  visit  from  the 
Citizens'  Committee,  and,  by  a  singularly  op 
portune  coincidence,  Mr.  McGrath  has  called 
at  the  same  time.  Can  you  spare  us  a  few 
moments  of  your  time?" 

With  a  bow,  and  a  glance  at  Cavendish, 
Barclay  followed  his  superior  silently  from 
the  room. 

In  the  Governor's  office  he  found  a  dozen 
men,  ah1  standing.  McGrath,  with  his  back 
to  the  others,  was  examining  with  an  elabo 
rate  air  of  interest  a  map  of  AUeghenia  which 
hung  upon  the  wall.  Colonel  Broadcastle  and 
his  fellow-members  of  the  Citizens'  Committee, 
stood  close  to,  and  facing,  the  Governor's 
desk.  The  air  was  electric  with  suggestion 
of  a  crisis  about  to  come. 

When  the  Governor  began  to  speak,  it  was 
in  his  habitually  suave  voice,  yet  he  was 
visibly  nervous. 

"  Colonel  Broadcastle  has  been  good  enough 

to  observe,"  he  said,  "  that  if  I  do  not  call 

out  the  militia  within  three  hours,  to  protect 

the   interests  of   Mr.  Peter   Rathbawne,  his 

248 


THE   INSTKUMENT  OF  FATE 

committee  will  appeal  for  aid  to  the  federal 
government.  Now  —  er  —  now,  in  my  place, 
and  in  such  a  situation,  Mr.  Barclay  —  er  — 
what  would  you  do  ?  " 

The  Lieutenant-Governor's  nerve,  strained 
beyond  endurance  by  the  events  of  the  past 
twenty-four  hours,  snapped  like  a  dry  twig  at 
the  contemptuous  hypocrisy  of  the  other's  tone. 

"  Do  !  "  he  thundered  —  "do?  Why,  as 
God  is  my  witness,  Elijah  Abbott,  if  I  were 
in  your  place  I  would  do  what  any  honest 
man  would  do  !  I  would  do  what  my  oath 
demanded  of  me !  I  would  clap  that  man 
McGrath  into  jail  for  iniquitous  inciting  to 
riot,  and  place  Colonel  Broadcastle,  at  the 
head  of  his  regiment,  in  charge  of  the  city  to 
restore  order  and  the  reign  of  law,  and  to  re 
deem  Alleghenia  from  the  disgrace  that  is 
overwhelming  her.  Do  ?  Before  God,  the 
Republic,  and  the  state,  Governor  Abbott,  I 
would  do  my  duty  as  a  man !  " 

"Then  do  it!" 

The  words,  spoken  from  the  threshold  of 
Barclay's  office,  rent  the  silence  like  a  thunder- 
249 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

clap,  and  before  those  present  had  time  to 
turn,  there  came  the  sound  of  a  pistol-shot, 
and  Governor  Abbott,  wheeling  slowly  on  his 
heels,  crashed  headforemost  through  the  plate- 
glass  window  behind  him,  and  lay,  limp  and 
motionless,  across  the  sill. 

"  Then  do  it,  by  God,  Governor  Barclay  !  " 
repeated  Cavendish,  and  flung  his  revolver 
into  the  centre  of  the  room. 

The  apartment  was  already  filled  with  those 
attracted  from  the  corridors  and  adjacent 
offices  by  the  sound  of  the  shot.  Several 
seized  Cavendish,  who  stood  without  move 
ment,  smiling.  Barclay,  Colonel  Broadcastle, 
and  the  other  members  of  the  committee  lifted 
the  Governor's  body  from  the  position  in 
which  it  had  fallen,  and  laid  it  upon  a  couch. 
After  a  brief  examination,  the  Colonel  looked 
up  into  Barclay's  eyes. 

"  He 's  dead,  sir,"  he  said.  "  The  assassin 
was  right.  You  are  Governor  of  Alleghenia." 

For  an  instant,  Barclay  returned  his  glance 
with  one  of  earnest  inquiry. 

"  Even  in  the  face  of  this  tragedy,"  added 
250 


THE  INSTRUMENT  OF  FATE 

Colonel  Broadcastle  in  a  low  voice,  "  I  trust 
you  will  not  forget  the  exigencies  of  the  situ 
ation.  It  is  for  you  to  act,  sir." 

Barclay  suddenly  raised  himself  to  his  full 
height,  and  faced  the  silent  gathering. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said  firmly,  "  the  Gover 
nor  is  dead.  For  the  moment,  at  least,  I  act 
in  his  stead.  Kenton  City  is  under  martial  law. 
Those  who  have  the  assassin  in  charge  will 
see  that  he  is  immediately  turned  over  to  the 
chief  of  police.  Mr.  McGrath,  you  will  con 
sider  yourself  under  arrest.  Colonel  Broad- 
castle,  you  will  immediately  assemble  your 
regiment  at  its  armory,  issue  three  days'  ra 
tions,  and  twenty  rounds  of  ball  cartridge,  and 
hold  yourself  and  your  command  in  readiness 
for  riot  duty,  subject  to  my  orders." 

Then  he  faced  Cavendish. 

"  There  's  a  message  I  'd  like  to  have  de 
livered,  to  the  Fairy  Princess,"  said  the  latter, 
still  smiling.  "  It  is  that  Diogenes  has  eaten 
the  ugly  little  bug." 


251 


XIV 

THE    VOICE    OF   ALLEGHENIA 

As  Barclay  had  foreseen,  the  adoption  of 
stringent  measures  was  all  that  was  needed 
to  break  the  back-bone  of  the  strike  at  the 
Rathbawne  Mills.  The  presence  of  the  Ninth 
Regiment,  under  command  of  that  noted  dis 
ciplinarian,  Colonel  Broadcastle,  and  terribly 
in  earnest,  as  was  evinced  by  the  ball  car 
tridges  gleaming  in  their  belts,  was  sufficient 
to  discourage  any  further  attempts  at  dis 
order  ;  the  sudden  shift  of  base  of  the  news 
papers  which  had  formerly  supported  the 
rioters,  and  now,  taking  their  cue  from  the 
policy  of  the  new  Governor,  counseled  imme 
diate  surrender;  above  all,  the  trial,  convic 
tion,  and  sentence  of  their  moving  spirit, 
McGrath,  to  a  term  of  years  for  inciting  to 
riot  —  all  were  irresistible  factors  in  the 
Union's  capitulation.  Two  weeks  after  the 
252 


THE   VOICE  OF  ALLEGHENIA 

death  of  Governor  Abbott,  the  Rathbawne 
Mills  were  running  once  more,  and  Peter 
Rathbawne  himself,  though  whiter  of  hair  and 
but  a  shadow  of  his  old  self,  was,  nevertheless, 
on  the  high  road  to  recovery. 

The  trial  and  conviction  of  Spencer  Caven 
dish  were  accomplished  with  unexampled  celer 
ity.  He  would  admit  of  no  defense,  although 
the  lawyer  appointed  for  him  by  the  court 
was  strenuous  for  a  plea  of  insanity,  based 
upon  the  singular  remark  which  he  had  made 
upon  the  announcement  of  Elijah  Abbott's 
death,  and  which  was  construed  by  those  who 
heard  it  as  ample  proof  of  irresponsibility. 
Called  upon  in  court  to  give  his  defense, 
Cavendish  stated  in  a  loud,  clear  voice  that 
he  was  strictly  accountable  for  his  act,  that 
he  was  in  full  possession  of  his  senses  at  the 
time,  and  that  he  had  killed  the  Governor  in 
the  firm  conviction  that  he  was  a  menace  to 
the  safety  of  the  community,  and  that  the 
latter's  sole  salvation  lay  in  his  removal,  and 
the  succession  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor  to 
the  position  of  chief  executive. 
253 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

"  I  desire,"  he  concluded,  with  the  same 
odd  smile  that  he  had  worn  at  the  moment  of 
the  Governor's  death,  "  nothing  but  the  full 
penalty  of  the  law." 

The  next  day  Spencer  Cavendish  was  sen 
tenced  to  be  executed  on  the  thirtieth  of  the 
following  month  at  the  State's  Prison  at 
Mowberly. 

Then  followed  the  most  remarkable  mani 
festation  of  popular  sentiment  ever  known  in 
Alleghenia.  As  Barclay  had  once  said  of 
them,  the  citizens  of  his  long  degraded  state 
were  less  vicious  than  callous,  and  their  cal 
lousness  was  effectively  cured  by  the  dramatic 
event  which  had  removed  a  corrupt  official 
from  the  head  of  the  state  government,  and 
put  in  his  place  a  man  whose  first  acts  were 
proofs  positive  of  strength,  integrity,  and  sin 
gleness  of  purpose.  The  revulsion  of  feeling 
was  overwhelming.  Even  the  press  which 
had  sneered  at  and  cried  down  John  Barclay 
was  forced  to  the  other  extreme.  Relieved 
from  the  burden  of  lawlessness  which  had  lain 
on  Kenton  City  for  close  upon  three  months, 
254 


THE  VOICE   OF  ALLEGHENIA 

the  citizens  went  over  in  a  body  to  the  sup 
port  of  their  new  Governor.  He  was  cheered 
on  his  every  appearance  in  public  as  assidu 
ously  as  he  had  been  ignored  before,  and, 
responding  with  the  whole  force  of  his  sensi 
tive  nature  to  this  longed-for  and  unexpected 
popularity,  he  devoted  himself  more  and  more 
earnestly,  day  by  day,  to  the  welfare  of  the 
state  which  was  his  idol. 

But  following  in  the  wake  of  this  revul 
sion  of  feeling  in  favor  of  Barclay  came  one, 
hardly  less  complete,  in  favor  of  Spencer  Cav 
endish.  While  strictly  speaking  there  could 
be  no  condoning  his  act,  it  was  none  the  less 
evident  to  even  the  most  rigid  adherents  of 
law  that  by  it  he  had  conferred  an  indisputa 
ble  benefit  upon  the  state  of  Alleghenia,  and 
his  open  statement  of  his  reasons  at  the  time 
of  his  trial  militated  for  rather  than  against 
him.  So  it  was  that  a  public  petition  was 
framed  and  circulated,  asking,  at  the  hands 
of  Governor  Barclay,  the  commutation  of  the 
death  sentence  to  one  of  life  imprisonment. 
Little  by  little  the  list  of  signatures  grew, 
255 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

until,  a  week  before  the  date  fixed  for  Caven 
dish's  execution,  they  were  numbered  by  tens 
of  thousands.  Then  the  petition,  rolled  into 
a  cylinder,  was  presented  to  the  Governor  by 
a  committee,  and  left  for  his  consideration. 

To  Barclay  the  intervening  time  had  passed 
with  almost  incredible  rapidity.  His  days, 
filled  as  they  were  to  overflowing  with  num 
berless  and  complex  duties,  were  yet  the  pleas- 
antest  he  had  ever  known.  At  last,  he  was 
what  he  had  dreamed  of  being  —  an  active 
factor,  the  most  active  of  all  factors,  in  the 
advancement  of  his  state.  Redeemed,  as  if 
by  a  miracle,  from  the  disgrace  which  had 
laid  her  low,  Alleghenia  arose,  in  his  eyes, 
like  a  phoenix,  throwing  off  the  ashes  of  her 
reproach,  and  blazing,  with  new  wings  of 
burnished  beauty,  in  the  sunlight  of  hope  and 
peace. 

Barclay  had  retained  his  old  office,  not  car 
ing  to  make  use  of  a  room  so  permeated  with 
associations  of  recent  tragedy  as  was  that 
which  had  formerly  been  Governor  Abbott's. 
Now,  with  the  windows  open  and  the  soft 
256 


THE  VOICE  OF  ALLEGHENIA 

May  air  stirring  the  papers  on  his  desk,  he 
sat,  looking  vacantly  across  the  room,  with  the 
huge  petition  spread  out  before  him.  His 
attention,  long  absorbed  by  the  problem  in 
hand,  was  diverted  by  a  tap  on  the  ante-room 
door,  and,  in  answer  to  his  call,  Natalie  Rath- 
bawne  stood  before  him,  smiling  out  of  the 
exquisite  daintiness  of  a  fresh  spring  frock. 

"  You  've  forgotten  !  "  she  said  immedi 
ately,  at  sight  of  his  knit  brows. 

"  Forgotten  what?"  inquired  the  Governor 
inadvisedly. 

The  girl's  little  foot  stamped  almost  noise 
lessly  upon  the  thick  carpet. 

"  Upon  my  word  !  "  she  exclaimed,  "  if 
there  's  one  thing  worse  than  being  engaged 
to  the  Lieutenant-Go vernor,  it 's  being  en 
gaged  to  the  Governor  himself  !  Forgotten, 
of  course,  that  we  are  to  lunch  together,  and 
look  at  wall-papers  afterwards !  Do  you  know, 
John  Barclay,  I  don't  -believe  you  mean  to 
marry  me,  after  all  ?  We  '11  be  just  approach 
ing  the  altar,  when  "  — 

She  was  interrupted  in  characteristic  fash- 
257 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

ion,  and  disengaged  herself,  with  a  great  air 
of  indignation,  from  Barclay's  arms. 

"  If  you  want  to  take  lunch  in  the  company 
of  a  rag  carpet,"  she  said  severely,  "  that 's 
the  very  best  way  to  go  about  it.  Get  your 
hat." 

There  was  a  little  pause  as  Barclay  filed 
some  papers  in  his  private  safe,  and  then  one 
startled  word  from  the  girl. 

«  John!" 

Wheeling  abruptly,  he  saw  her  standing  at 
the  desk,  with  her  hand  on  the  petition,  and 
her  eyes,  wide  and  wonderstruck,  searching 
his  face. 

"  Dearest !  "  he  said  impulsively,  "  I  wish 
you  had  n't." 

But  Natalie  only  laughed  joyfully. 

"  But  I  'm  glad,  Johnny  boy,"  she  answered, 
"  glad  —  glad  —  glad  !  What  a  wonderful 
thing  it  is  to  be  Governor,  boy  dear !  I  don't 
think  I  ever  really  understood  before.  Think 
of  it !  To  have  the  power  of  lif e  and  death 
—  to  be  able  to  right  the  wrongs  of  justice 
with  a  single  stroke  of  the  pen.  Oh,  John ! 
258 


THE   VOICE   OF  ALLEGHENIA 

Sign  it  now  —  before  we  go.  I  shall  be  so 
much  happier." 

The  Governor  made  no  reply.  He  stood, 
with  his  head  bent,  smoothing  his  hat  with 
the  fingers  of  his  right  hand.  Gradually  the 
expression  of  eager  expectation  on  her  face 
changed  to  one  of  anxiety. 

"  John,"  she  said  in  a  half  whisper,  "  you 
are,  going  to  sign  it,  are  n't  you,  boy  dear  ?  " 

"I'm  not  sure,"  faltered  the  Governor. 
"  I  'm  not  quite  sure,  dearest.  It  is  the  hard 
est  problem  I  've  ever  had  given  me  to  solve. 
I  can  understand  now  the  meaning  of  some 
thing  your  father  said  to  me  just  before  the 
strike, —  that,  for  the  first  time  in  his  lif e,  he 
did  n't  know  what  to  do,  because  right  seemed 
to  be  hopelessly  entangled  with  wrong,  and 
wrong  with  right.  When  a  man  does  evil  in 
order  that  good  may  come,  one  tries  to  find 
an  excuse  for  him,  tries  to  palliate  his  offense 
in  any  reasonable  way.  That  is  human  in 
stinct.  That  is  what  accounts  for  the  peti 
tion  there,  with  the  signatures  of  many  of 
the  most  conscientious  men  in  AUeghenia  at- 
259 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

tached.  They  have  managed  to  find  the  ex 
cuse,  or  they  think  they  have,  which,  so  far 
as  their  personal  convictions  are  concerned, 
amounts  to  about  the  same  thing.  And  I  've 
been  saying  to  myself  that  when  public  opin 
ion  points  out  a  course  as  justifiable  it  can 
hardly  be  possible  for  a  single  individual  to 
say  that  it  is  not.  And  yet  the  wrong  is 
there,  is  n't  it  ?  No  matter  how  confused  a 
question  may  seem  to  us,  there  must  abso 
lutely,  when  we  come  to  think  of  it,  be  some 
one  great  elemental  principle  upon  which  it 
not  only  can,  but  must,  be  decided  —  some 
boundary  line  between  justice  and  injustice 
which  we  may  be  too  blind  to  see,  but  which 
exists,  and  calls  for  observance,  none  the  less. 
Right  is  right,  wrong  is  wrong.  No  confu 
sion  between  the  two  can  possibly  exist  ex 
cept  in  appearance.  Strive  to  elude  truth  as 
we  will,  it  remains  eternal  truth,  and  cannot 
be  evaded  in  the  end.  And  where  it  seems  to 
be  beyond  us,  all  we  can  do  is  to  strive  to 
find  the  silken  thread  which  will  surely  lead 
us  out  of  the  labyrinth  into  the  searching 
260 


THE  VOICE   OF  ALLEGHENIA 

light  of  day.  It  is  that  clue  which  I  have 
been  groping  for.  What  is  it  ?  How  am  I 
to  know  it  when  I  see  it?  What  am  I  to 
do  ?  At  first  I  thought  the  case  was  clear  — 
what  he  said,  you  know  —  about  Diogenes  — 
it  seemed  so  odd  —  every  one  thought  so  —  it 
might  be  construed  as  —  as  insanity  "  — 

"  Oh,  no,  John  !  Why,  we  know  what 
that  meant !  No  —  no  !  The  best  part  of 
it  all  was  his  sanity,  his  wonderful  courage, 
his  braving  of  almost  certain  death  for  what 
he  believed  —  and  knew,  John  —  knew  to  be 
right  and  best.  Think  what  he  did  for  Alle- 
ghenia,  Johnny  boy.  He  has  been  almost  as 
great  an  instrument  in  her  salvation  as  you. 
Think  what  he  has  done  for  all  of  us  —  for 
you,  in  giving  you  this  opportunity  —  for  me 
—  for  Dad !  John,  how  can  you  hesitate  ?  " 

The  Governor  shook  his  head. 

"  Dearest,"  he  said,  "  you  're  on  the  wrong 
track,  just  as  I  have  been,  a  dozen  times  since 
the  petition  came.  Don't  you  suppose  I  've 
thought  of  all  that  ?  Its  significance,  not 
only  to  me,  but,  as  you  say,  to  the  state,  is  so 
261 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

tremendous  that,  at  the  first  glance,  it  seems 
to  be  an  unanswerable  argument.  But  — 
don't  you  see  ?  —  no  sophistry,  no  contempla 
tion  of  the  results  achieved,  can  ever  make  it 
justifiable  for  a  man  to  arrogate  to  himself 
the  power  of  taking  human  life,  which  is  the 
prerogative  of  God  and  the  law  alone.  The 
peculiar  circumstances  of  Cavendish's  crime 
plead  eloquently,  almost  irresistibly,  for  his 
pardon.  He  has  saved  the  state  —  yes  !  But 
the  case  is  one  in  a  million,  and  it  is  not  an 
individual  case  alone  which  hangs  upon  my 
decision,  —  it  is  the  establishment  of  a  pre 
cedent,  the  maintenance  of  a  principle." 

"  But,  John,"  broke  in  Natalie  eagerly, 
"  what  you  've  just  said  —  is  n't  that  the  clue 
for  which  you  have  been  groping  ?  He  saved 
the  state  !  I  've  heard  you  talk  of  Alleghenia 
too  often,  of  what  you  hoped  for  her,  and 
what  you  despaired  of  ever  bringing  to  pass, 
not  to  know  what  those  four  words  must  mean 
to  you.  Think  of  it !  He  saved  the  state  ! 
Without  any  possibility  of  selfish  object  he 
did  this  extraordinary  thing  —  made  it  possi- 
262 


THE  VOICE  OF  ALLEGHENIA 

ble  for  Alleghenia  to  win  back  the  honor  and 
respect  she  had  so  nearly  lost  forever !  He 
killed  the  man  who  had  no  thought  of  her 
purity  and  dignity,  who  used  the  power  the 
people  had  given  him  for  the  furtherance  of 
his  own  selfish  and  wicked  ends,  who  made 
her  justice  a  mockery,  who  played  with  her 
law  as  if  "  — 

"  Stop  !  "  exclaimed  the  Governor.     l(  Stop 

—  I  must  think.     Wait  a  moment.     I  must 
think  —  I  must  think !  " 

After  a  minute  he  began  to  speak  again, 
this  time  in  a  lower  tone,  a  tone  which  sug 
gested  self-communion  rather  than  direct  ad 
dress  to  the  girl  before  him. 

"Yes,  that's  it.  Wait  now,  —  let  me  be 
sure  !  He  killed  the  man  who  had  no  thought 
of  Alleghenia' s  purity,  who  used  his  power 
to  serve  his  own  ends,  who  made  her  justice  " 

—  he  was  speaking  very  slowly,  dwelling  on 
each  word  as  it  left  his  lips  —  "  her  justice  a 
mockery,  who  played  with  her  law  —  her  law 

—  her  Law  "  — 

He  paused  once  more,  his  brows  knit,  his 
263 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

firm  hand  slowly  stroking  his  chin.  Then,  o£ 
a  sudden,  he  drew  a  deep  breath,  flung  back 
his  shoulders,  and  looked  at  her.  His  eyes 
were  blazing,  his  voice  touched  with  a  new 
meaning,  an  eloquence  deep,  firm,  conclusive. 

"Natalie,"  he  said,  "come  here." 

"You've  struck  the  keynote,"  he  added, 
when  they  stood  face  to  face,  a  foot  or  two 
apart.  "  It  is  n't  what  you  thought,  or  what 
you  meant,  but  it  is  the  keynote,  just  the 
same.  The  Law !  " 

He  wheeled  slowly,  and  stepped  forward, 
until  he  was  directly  before  the  emblazoned 
arms  of  Alleghenia  which  hung  upon  his 
wall. 

"  Justitia  —  Lex  —  Integritas  !  "  he  said. 
"  Many  a  time,  when  the  way  seemed  darkest, 
I've  read  those  words  over  to  myself,  and 
found  hope  in  them.  Events  changed,  crises 
came  and  went,  portents  loomed  thick,  de 
spair  seemed  omnipotent,  failure  and  disgrace 
inevitable  —  but  the  motto  of  Alleghenia  re 
mained  the  same.  Steadfast,  purposeful,  and 
commanding,  it  has  endured  through  the  triv- 
264 


THE  VOICE  OF  ALLEGHENIA 

ial  changes  of  political  significance  which  have 
been  as  impotent  to  sully  the  actuality  of 
her  fair  fame  as  are  sun  -  spots  to  dim  the 
radiance  of  the  sun.  It  is  only  natural,  per 
haps,  that  the  discouragements  which  were 
but  transient  should  have  seemed  to  me  to  be 
vital,  damning,  irremediable.  Just  as  the  Is 
raelites  of  old  turned  from  the  promises  of 
God  to  worship  Baal,  so  have  I  turned  from 
the  assurance  given  me  by  these  arms  of  Alle- 
ghenia,  to  prostrate  myself  before  false  idols  of 
doubt  and  despair.  I  should  have  remembered 
how  they  called  me,  in  the  first  instance,  from 
a  life  of  idleness  and  ease,  to  fight  my  way 
through  the  desert  of  difficulty,  toward  the 
promised  land  of  honor.  I  should  have  re 
membered  how  in  my  darkest  hours  they 
went  before  me  as  a  pillar  of  fire,  how  in  the 
famine  of  my  soul  these  words  were  the  manna 
of  encouragement,  how  in  my  thirst  they 
struck  clear  water  from  the  rock  of  adverse 
circumstance.  But  the  Israelites  came  back 
to  their  true  God  at  last ;  so  I,  little  girl, 
to  my  true  ideal.  The  Law  !  —  you  said  the 
265 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

word  —  the  Law  is  the  clue,  the  keynote,  the 
boundary  between  right  and  wrong  !  " 

She  was  at  his  side,  and  he  slipped  one  arm 
around  her,  and  held  her  close  to  him  as  with 
his  finger  he  traced  again  the  motto  of  Alle- 
ghenia. 

"  Do  you  know  what  this  means  ? "  he 
asked.  "  Justitia,  —  to  be  just  to  all  men, 
without  fear  or  favor,  lenient  to  our  ene 
mies,  rigid  and  unyielding,  if  need  be,  to 
our  friends;  putting  aside  personal  consid 
erations,  striving  so  far  as  in  us  lies  to  be 
impartial,  merciful  in  the  face  of  prejudice, 
relentless  in  that  of  conviction  —  fair  !  Lex, 
—  to  abide  by  the  law,  in  spirit  only  if  our  in 
most  conviction  warrants  that  course,  but  in 
letter  absolutely  where  there  is  the  smallest 
hint  of  doubt ;  secure  in  the  knowledge  that, 
however  fallible  it  be,  it  is  the  best  that  man 
has  yet  been  able  to  do  in  imitation  of  the 
immutable  decrees  of  God.  Integritas,  —  to 
be  true  to  the  oaths  we  have  sworn,  faith 
ful  to  the  promises  we  have  made,  loyal  to 
the  office  intrusted  to  us  by  the  people,  to 
266 


THE  VOICE   OF  ALLEGHENIA 

whom  and  for  whom  we  are  responsible. 
Dearest,  I  am  no  mere  man.  Were  I  that, 
were  I  to  consult  my  will  alone,  and  it  lay, 
as  now  it  lies,  in  my  power  to  accomplish, 
Spencer  Cavendish  should  go  free  to-day.  I 
know  what  he  has  done ;  I  appreciate  his 
sacrifice ;  I  see  that  by  a  single  act  he  has 
accomplished  what  the  rest  of  us  were  power 
less  to  cure ;  I  admire  his  courage  ;  I  condone 
his  crime ;  I  could  forget  all  his  weaknesses 
for  the  sake  of  this  one  great  evidence  of  his 
strength.  And  yet  —  listen  to  me,  dearest !  — 
in  what  he  strove  to  do  he  has  failed  utterly, 
if  in  removing  a  corrupt  official  who  made  a 
mockery  of  Alleghenia's  law  he  has  not  re 
placed  him  by  one  who  with  all  the  force  of 
his  conscience  and  all  the  power  of  his  influ 
ence  will  see  that  law  administered.  And 
whatever  we  may  say  of  his  crime,  whatever 
its  causes,  whatever  its  wonderful  results,  it 
was  and  is  a  crime.  '  Thou  shalt  not  kill ! ' 
God  has  said  it ;  Alleghenia  by  the  voice  of 
her  law  has  ratified  it.  And  not  even  the 
fact  that  Cavendish  has  made  possible  all  my 
267 


THE  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 

fondest  and  worthiest  hopes,  the  fact  that  he 
has  rescued  from  suffering  all  I  hold  most 
dear"  — 

Barclay  suddenly  covered  his  face  with  his 
free  hand,  as  he  had  covered  it  on  that  after 
noon  in  Peter  Rathbawne's  library,  weeks  be 
fore  ;  then  he  looked  up  again,  his  lips  trem 
bling. 

"  Dearest,"  he  said,  "  I  am  Governor  of 
Alleghenia,  and  as  such  owe  an  allegiance,  an 
obedience,  which  personal  prejudice  cannot 
impugn.  On  the  day  when  you  spoke  to  me 
of  meeting  Cavendish  you  pointed  out  the 
course  of  a  gentleman  and  a  friend.  On  the 
night  of  the  Ninth's  review  you  taught  me  the 
creed  of  an  American  and  an  Alleghenian. 
To-day — unconsciously  perhaps,  but  none  the 
less  surely  —  you  have  made  clear  the  duty 
of  a  public  servant.  God  bless  you,  my  life, 
my  heart,  my  conscience  !  May  I  be  worthy 
of  you  and  of  the  commonwealth  I  serve. 
Where  I  doubted  before,  now  I  am  sure.  It 
is  hard — God  only  knows  how  hard  —  but 
listen  to  AUeghenia's  bidding !  Justitia, 
268 


THE  VOICE  OF  ALLEGHENIA 

Lex,  Integritas,  —  equity,  the  code,  and  good 
faith,  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man,  heaven 
and  earth,  the  American  people  and  the  com 
monwealth  of  Alleghenia.  God  save  the 
state  !  " 

"  John,"  whispered  the  girl  brokenly,  — 
"  John,  you  're  right.  God  save  the  state  !  " 

Slowly,  tenderly,  the  Governor  of  Alleghe 
nia  led  her  back  to  the  table,  and  taking  up 
a  pen,  with  a  firm  hand  wrote  five  words, 
heavily  underscored,  at  the  head  of  the  Cav 
endish  petition.  And  these  were  :  — 

"Disapproved. 

John  Hamilton  Barclay, 

Governor" 

Then,  turning  to  the  girl  who  loved  him, 
he  took  her  in  his  arms. 


269 


dfte  ffitoertftoe 

KUctrotyptd  and printed  by  H.  O.  Houghton  &•  Co. 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  U.S.  A. 


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